L8: Population Growth and Development PDF

**[L8: Population growth and development]** - Populations will continue to grow even if fertility rates start to decline/collapse - This 'population momentum' is a consequence of demographic transition - Population growth is a function of birth rates but also the size of the coh...

**[L8: Population growth and development]** - Populations will continue to grow even if fertility rates start to decline/collapse - This 'population momentum' is a consequence of demographic transition - Population growth is a function of birth rates but also the size of the cohort of women in their reproductive ages - Populations may reach an equilibrium whereby birth and death rates are low - 'Population momentum' contributes to the theory that population is a 'runaway train' like India and China - Malthusian Population Theory: - Human populations can grow exponentially, but food production (productivity of land) could only increase at an arithmetic rate - When population hits food production capacity, a catastrophic population crash will occur - Population growth can be checked through: - Preventative checks: changing marital social norms (marrying when capable of supporting a family) - Positive checks: indirectly/directly shortening lifespan (e.g. famine) - Moral restraint: celibacy, postponing marriage - Too may people to feed, clothe, educate (poor large urban families) - Not enough earth or money for the population - Population growth is a serious problem for global development - Neo-Malthusians: - 1968 -- Population Bomb - 1990 -- Population Explosion - Optimistic theories supporting population growth: - Cornucopian: rejects the idea that population growth is problematic and that earth has finite resources and carrying capacity - Population growth is good for the economy and environment - Ester Boserup: Conditions of Agricultural Growth innovations happen when population causes strain on food supply and increased population only increases food production - Julian Simon: More people = more likely people will invent new technologies to boost innovations and solve problems - Last 30 years, world population has doubled - Incomes have increased by 2/3 - More recent focus on the effects of development of change in structure of rapidly growing populations particularly with regards to age