Population Studies Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What does net international migration refer to?

The total number of children born in a year

The number of deaths in a specific region

The excess of persons moving into a country over those who leave (correct)

The difference in birth and death rates

The crude birth rate is calculated per 10,000 population.

False

What is the Total Fertility Rate (TFR)?

The number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years.

Improved vaccination campaigns have had a significant impact on _________ rates.

death Signup and view all the answers

Match the following countries with their Total Fertility Rate decline between 1970-2017:

Bangladesh = 7 to 2.1 Jamaica = 5.3 to 2 Colombia = 5.3 to 1.8 Mexico = 4.9 to 2.2 Signup and view all the answers

What does a steep population pyramid indicate?

Future population growth Signup and view all the answers

High-income countries in 2016 had similar population structures as low-income countries in 1965.

False Signup and view all the answers

What is the demographic dividend?

Opportunity for economic growth due to a lower number of dependents and more working-age individuals. Signup and view all the answers

A wide base in a population pyramid suggests a ____________ population growth.

large Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following factors can lead to social unrest?

High youth unemployment Signup and view all the answers

Match each stage of population history with its description:

Stage 1 = Stable population with high birth and death rates Stage 2 = Marked reduction in mortality and increased life expectancy Stage 3 = Falling birth rates and convergence with low death rates Signup and view all the answers

Fertility declines lead to demographic transitions in developing regions.

True Signup and view all the answers

In what way do aging populations in high-income countries increase support needs?

They require more care and resources for the elderly. Signup and view all the answers

Which region had the highest under-5 mortality rate in 2018?

Sub-Saharan Africa Signup and view all the answers

High-income countries typically have a youthful population with a high youth dependency ratio.

False Signup and view all the answers

What is the youth dependency ratio?

The proportion of young people under age 15 to the working population aged 16 to 64 in a country. Signup and view all the answers

As of 2018, the under-5 mortality rate in Latin America & Caribbean was _____ per 1,000.

16 Signup and view all the answers

Match the following regions with their under-5 mortality rates in 2018:

South Asia = 42 per 1,000 East Asia & Pacific = 15 per 1,000 Latin America & Caribbean = 16 per 1,000 Sub-Saharan Africa = 78 per 1,000 Signup and view all the answers

What does 'hidden momentum of population growth' refer to?

Population growth continues due to a large existing youth population Signup and view all the answers

Children under 15 years of age make up a higher percentage of the population in low-income countries compared to high-income countries.

True Signup and view all the answers

The age structure of many low- and middle-income countries leads to _____ births even with lower fertility rates.

increased future Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Population Growth and Economic Development

World population reached 7.6 billion in 2017.
United Nations Population Projections:
- 2030: 8.6 billion
- 2050: 9.8 billion
- 2100: 11.2 billion
- Most growth projected in developing countries.

Impact of Population Growth

Population growth affects human welfare and development.
Rapid growth can harm:
- Living standards (income, health, education)
- Well-being (capabilities, self-esteem, respect, dignity)
- Freedom (choice and opportunities)

World Population Growth, 1950-2050

1950: 1.7 billion in developing countries (66% of global population)
2050 Projection:
- Developing countries >8 billion (88% of global population)
- Least-developed countries: 200 million to 2 billion (10x increase)
- Developed countries: Minimal growth expected even with immigration
Historical Growth Rates
- Pre-300 years ago: ~0.002% annual growth
- 1750: 0.3%
- 1950s: ~1%
- 1970 Peak: ~2.35%
- Current: ~1.2% globally; Africa 2.3%

Reason for Sudden Change in Population Trends

Historically, famine, disease, and war caused high death rates.
20th-century advances (medicine, nutrition, sanitation) resulted in significantly lower death rates.
Current trends: High population growth in developing countries due to rapid decline in mortality; birth rates remain high in least-developed countries. This slows transition to lower rates.

World Population Distribution (2010 and 2050)

More than 3/4 of the world's people live in developing countries.
Less than 1/4 lives in developed nations.
Africa's population is steadily growing.

Rate of Population Increase

The growth rate of a population.
Calculated as the natural increase after adjusting for immigration and emigration.
Natural Increase: Difference between birth rate and death rate.
Net International Migration: Excess of persons migrating into a country over those who emigrate.
Crude birth rate: Number of children born alive each year per 1,000 population (shortened to birth rate).
death rate: Number of deaths each year per 1,000 population

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

Number of children born to a woman during her child bearing years, based on prevailing age-specific fertility rates.
Fertility began to fall around 1970 coinciding with peak world population growth.
Examples of Decline (1970-2017):
- Bangladesh: 7 to 2.1 births/woman
- Jamaica: 5.3 to 2
- Colombia: 5.3 to 1.8
- Mexico: 4.9 to 2.2
Births per woman has fallen less rapidly in Africa. This is due to educational disruptions and conflict.

Improvements in Health and Life Expectancy

Health Advances (vaccinations, improved public health, clean water, nutrition, and education)
Impact on Death Rates (decreased by up to 50% in some regions).
Life Expectancy (2017):
- Sub-Saharan Africa: 61 years
- High-income countries: Nearly 81 years
- East Asia: 76 years
- Latin America: 75 years

Under-5 Mortality Rate Reduction

Significant reductions (1990-2018)
- South Asia: 130 to 42 per 1,000
- East Asia & Pacific: 57 to 15 per 1,000
- Latin America & Caribbean: 55 to 16 per 1,000
- Sub-Saharan Africa: 180 to 78 per 1,000 (lagging progress)

Youth Dependency Ratio

Proportion of young people (under 15) to working-age population (16-64).
High in developing countries, requiring more support from the workforce.
Workforce Age Group (15-64):
- U.S.: 65%, with 19% under 15, 16% over 65.
- UK: Similar ratios.
- Euro Area: 20% over age 65; Japan: 28%.
- Sub-Saharan Africa (2018): 54% workforce; only 3% over 65.

Hidden Momentum of Population Growth

Population continues to increase even if birth rates fall.
Large existing youthful population expands the population's base of potential parents.

Population Pyramid

Graphic depiction of age structure.
Age cohorts plotted vertically.
Population shares or numbers of males/females in each cohort plotted horizontally.
Steep pyramid = stable population.
Wide base = future population growth as large young cohorts reach adulthood.
Changes in Population Pyramids (1965 vs. 2016)
- Low-income countries in 2016 resemble middle-income countries in 1965.
- Middle-income countries in 2016 reflect high-income countries in 1965.
Fertility declines lead to demographic transitions.

Demographic Dividend

Opportunity for economic growth with fewer dependents and more working-age individuals.
Increased productivity and investment in human capital

Challenges

High youth unemployment can lead to social unrest.
Aging populations in high-income countries increase support needs for the elderly.

Demographic Transition

Famous concept in economic demography.
Fertility rates decline to low and stable levels.
Phasing-out of population growth from virtually stagnant growth to stable growth. Growth from high birth and death rates to high birth rates and low death rates to a stable low growth state. (high birth and death rates -> high growth -> high birth rate, low death rate -> low growth -> low birth rate, low death rate = stable).

Three Stages of Modern Population History

Stage 1 = stable population for centuries
Stage 2 = marked reduction in mortality with increase in life expectancy.
Stage 3 = decline in fertility, converging falling birth rates and lower/no death rates, leaving little or no population growth.

Replacement Fertility

Number of births per woman that would result in stable population levels.
About 2.05-2.1 births per woman in developed countries; may exceed 3 births per woman in developing countries due to lower survival rates.

Causes of High Fertility in Developing Countries: Malthusian and Household Models

Malthusian Population Trap = the population level at which increasing population growth is bound to stop because life-sustaining resources increase at an arithmetic rate while population increases at a geometric rate (making resources insufficient).
Critiques of the Malthusian model
Role of technological progress.
Per capita income as the wrong variable
focus on a macro approach to the issue of population and development instead of a micro-economic approach; family size decisions are important to consider when factoring in growth.

What We Can Learn From the Malthusian Model

Many still believe the Malthus trap in poor countries.
Historical factors and traps did exist in the past. (pre-Columbian Americas)
Scientific and technological progress is essential to modern economic growth.
Efforts to sustain increases in productivity must include social dimensions such as women's empowerment, increases in incomes, reducing old-age security motives, and increasing the opportunity cost of high fertility.

Microeconomic Household Theory of Fertility

Cd = demand for surviving children. It is influenced by household income (Cd>OY), net price of children (Cd>OPc <0), prices of other goods relative to children (Cd>OPx > 0), and preferences (Cd>0tx<0).

Demand for Children in Developing Countries

Son preference, especially in South Asia and East Asia.
Empirical evidence largely supports the theory for developing countries.
Influenced by family preferences for a certain number of surviving (usually male) children; price and/or "opportunity cost" of rearing children; and levels of family income.

Implications for Development and Fertility

Increased education for women leads to improved role and status.
Female nonagricultural wage employment opportunities increase cost of traditional child-rearing.
Increased family income through direct employment and/or redistribution (rich to poor).
Reduction in infant mortality (enhanced public health and increased nutrition and medical care).
Social security systems outside family lessen parents' economic dependence on offspring.
Expanded schooling opportunities enable parents to exchange child quantity with quality.

Population Growth is Not a Real Problem

Population growth is not the issue, other issues are more critical
Population growth is a false issue deliberately created to keep developing countries dependent.
In many underdeveloped, uneducated, and unhealthy countries with large families, large families provide social security.

World Resources and Environmental Depletion

Population can be an economic problem concerning resource availability and utilization.
Developed nations should curtail consumption rates, not ask developing nations to restrict growth.

Population Distribution

Population distribution, not numbers alone, causes problems.
Governments should strive towards more natural spatial distribution of populations in relation to available resources.

Subordination of Women

Women often bear the brunt of poverty, poor education and mobility.
Low status, restricted access to birth control leads to high fertility rates.
When women's health, education, and economic standing improve, families are generally smaller and population growth slows.

It is Deliberately Contrived False Issue

Rich nations pressure poor nations to control population, even though they went through population increases during development.
Rich nations pursue this to maintain international status quo that serves their self-interests, while ignoring other countries.
Larger populations generate demand, drive economies of scale, lower costs, and create a large sufficient, low-cost labor force.

Three Other Noneconomic Arguments

Countries use population growth to protect underpopulated border regions in anticipation of neighboring nations looking to expand.
Many groups' attitudes favoring large families must be protected for political and/or religious reasons.
Military and political power are often dependent on larger, youthful populations.

Counter-Arguments of Population Growth as a "Desirable Ideology"

Extremist Argument - Population and global crises are the primary causes of poverty. World population stabilization or decline is needed.
Theoretical Argument - Population-poverty cycle creates negative economic consequences and concerns for developing countries. Emphasize the need for family-planning programs to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Empirical Points - Economic growth, poverty, inequality, education, health, environment and international migration are negative outcomes of increasing population.

Other Empirical Arguments (Seven Negative Consequences of Overpopulation)

Economic Growth: Rapid population growth lowers per capita income growth, impacting especially low and middle-income countries that rely on agriculture and/or natural resources
Poverty & Inequality: Large family size exacerbates inequality and perpetuates poverty.
Education: Family size and low incomes restrict opportunities to educate children, reducing the stock of human capital.
Health: High fertility harms the health of mothers and children, with health risks increasing and close spacing of births associated with lower birth weights and higher child mortality.
Food: Feeding the world's population becomes more difficult with rapid population growth, impacting developing nations and food security.
Environment: Rapid population growth leads to environmental problems including forest encroachment, deforestation, and other destructive activities.
Migration: Migration, both legal and illegal, is a significant consequence of population growth in developing countries.

###The following are the propositions constitute the essential components of the intermediate consensus opinion:

Population growth is not a fundamental and primary cause of low levels of living, extreme inequalities, or the limited freedom of choice that characterize much of the developing world because the problem isn't simply about numbers, but also involves the quality of life and material well-being.
Rapid population growth intensifies the problems associated with underdevelopment, making prospects for development more remote.

Some Policy Approaches

Developing-country governments can initiate policies to influence and control population growth and distribution.
Developed-country governments can lessen their disproportionate consumption of limited world resources and promote a more equitable distribution of global economic progress.
Developed-country governments (and international assistance agencies) can initiate policies to help developing countries achieve their population objectives.

What Developing Countries Can Do

Eliminate incentives for large families to mitigate poverty.
Reduce income inequality to promote equitable resource access.
Expand educational opportunities, particularly for women.
Improve job opportunities for both men and women.
Enhance health services, ensuring access to clean water, sanitation, and nutrition.

What Developed Countries Can Do

Developed countries have disproportionate consumption of resources (The U.S. accounts for nearly 20% of world energy use despite only comprising 4.5% of the global population).
Focus on affluent nations' consumption patterns rather than simply population size in developing countries.

Environmental Impact

Rising affluence leads to increased depletion of resources like petroleum and basic metals.
Fossil fuel consumption contributes to carbon dioxide emissions and global warming.

Global Inequality in Resource Distribution

Wealthy nations waste resources while developing nations struggle to access essential materials and resources. Affluent nations should reduce consumption to free resources for poorer nations.

The Role of Lifestyle Changes

Developed nations should adopt sustainable lifestyles to relieve resource pressures.
This redirects resources toward social and economic development in poorer countries.

Immigration as a Solution

Historical context: Migration helped alleviate population pressure in Europe.
Current barriers: prevent economic benefits from international migration.
Legal migration could provide significant economic advantages to developing countries (estimated at $250 billion annually).

How Developed Countries Can Help Developing Countries with Their Population Programmes

Genuine Support for Development.
- Financial Assistance: Expand public and private funding for development efforts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Trade Relations: Establish tariff- and quota-free access to developed markets.
- Technology Transfers: Provide appropriate technologies and assist in building indigenous scientific research capabilities.
- Commodity Pricing: Implement fair international pricing policies for commodities
- Resource Sharing: Promote equitable sharing of scarce natural resources.

Areas for Direct Fertility Moderation Assistance

Research in Fertility Control Technologies = support more effective contraceptive methods (e.g. pills, IUDs, barrier contraception). Encourage research to improve low-cost options while minimizing health risks
Financial Assistance for Family Planning Programs = funding initiatives, public education, and national population research in developing countries, focusing on integrating funding into programs that improve living standards for low-income populations

Critical Considerations

Resource Allocation: Evaluate whether funding for family planning might be more effective if redirected toward improving living conditions
Motivation for Family Size Reduction: Programs that address socio-economic factors influencing family size decisions

Policy for Still-Developing Countries Facing Population Declines

Encouraging Immigration = attract skilled workers through paths to citizenship/guest worker systems. Address political resistance to immigration related to economic insecurity
Retraining Programs = provide generous retraining for older workers to adapt to evolving job markets. Focus on advanced skills for modern economies
Move Up the Value Chain = shift production processes to include more advanced, high-value activities domestically. Increase domestic productivity to support a larger nonworking population

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Test your knowledge on key concepts of population studies, including migration, fertility rates, and the implications of demographic transitions. This quiz covers various factors affecting population dynamics and social structures. Perfect for students or anyone interested in understanding population trends and their effects.