Population Growth and Economic Development: Causes, Consequences, and Controversies

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Population Growth and Economic Development
Causes, Consequences, and Controversies

• Chapter 6

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The Basic Issue Is Population Growth Good or Bad?

• Argument
• Population is a serious problem in developing
  countries?
• Theories
• Demographic transition
• Malthusian model
• Microeconomic theory of fertility
• Facts
• Some empirical evidence
• Policies
• What can developing countries do?

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1.1 Population Growth Is A Problem!

• Population and the Global Crisis
• Poverty, low standards of living, malnutrition,
  ill health, environmental degradation, etc.
• Population-poverty cycles
• Population growth, saving, per capita income
  growth
• 7 Negatives
• Lower Y per head
• Poor people bear burden of population growth
• Large population limits educational opportunities
• Health of women is harmed
• Family food is limited
• Environmental degradation occurs
• Illegal international migration and over
  urbanization

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1.2 Population Growth Isnt A Problem!

• Desirable
• Consumer Demand
• Economies of Scale
• Labor Supply (sufficient-low cost)
• Non-economic reasons

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2.1 The Demographic Transition

• Stage I high birthrates and death rates
• Stage II continued high birthrates, declining
  death rates
• Stage III falling birthrates and death rates,
  eventually stabilizing

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2.2 The Malthusian Model
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Criticisms of Malthus model
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2.3 The Household Model

• The microeconomic household theory of fertility

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Demand for Children Equation
Where Cd is the demand for surviving children Y
is the level of household income Pc is the net
price of children Px is price of all other
goods tx is the tastes for goods relative to
children
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Demand for Children Equation
Under neoclassical conditions, we would expect
or move From f to g to h in following figure.
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3.1 Population Growth Numbers
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3.2 Population Growth Structures
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3.3 Population Growth Relations

• Population growth income
• Population density income
• Population growth structure (Number
  Structure)
• Producer consumer

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4. Some Policy Approaches

• What developing countries can do
• Long run increase the price of child
• opportunity cost of mothers time
• Cost of educating child
• Short run control fertility
• Persuade people
• Family-planning programs
• Economic incentives and disincentives
• Redistribute population
• Coerce people
• Raise womens social and economic status

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