Experts and observers are confident that the new Marriage and Parenthood package would work to keep the total fertility rate from sliding further. But on whether they can turn it around to go up, they are markedly less hopeful. SMU Associate Professor of Psychology Norman Li said: "Anything is possible. But it will be very, very hard as long as Singapore is one of the centres of the hypercompetitive modern world." Associate Prof Li also found, in a 2010 study comparing 200 Singaporeans and 200 Americans that the Singaporeans were more materialistic and had a lower desire for family and children. This was despite similar levels of income inequality in the two countries. His conclusion was that a high level of materialism may "psychologically underlie the disparity in fertility rates among modern nations".