Kicker: Boys in Poland

NICK EICHER, HOST: In this country, male births typically outnumber female births, pretty much 51 percent to 49. It’s been that way for a long time, and it’s no different in Poland—except in a village of 300 people in the southwestern part of the country. It’s spelled m-i-e-j-s-c-e / o-d-r-z-a-n-s-k-i-e.

AUDIO: Miejsce Odrzańskie

Come again?

AUDIO: Miejsce Odrzańskie

Hm. Not seeing it. But that isn’t the point.

The point is, in this tiny village, the last time a boy was born there was the year 20-10.

And the mayor is trying the incentivize the birth of a boy. You will not be surprised to know he’s the father of two girls, and he says he’ll have—roughly translating his quote—“a nice surprise ready” for the next couple to have a boy.

This is pretty serious, because it’s a farm community and there’s some concern about filling farming jobs in the future.

However.

I’ll say I’m more comfortable with economics than biology, but I’m just not seeing the economic mechanism that makes the incentive work.

REICHARD: I promise you it doesn’t work biologically. Speaking as a biology major!

EICHER: There it is. The law of averages is just going to have to work out eventually.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

(Photo/Miejsce Odrzańskie volunteer fire brigade) Locals in the small Polish town say the last time a boy was born was 12 years ago. 

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