The 25 essays in this collection analyze developmental problems from an unusually broad perspective. The first seven essays emphasize the relationships between agriculture and population, while the next four are concerned with food supplies. Other essays address the role of women in economic development; the determinants of fertility in low-income countries; economic development in Africa; and public policy issues. ISBN 0-8018-3929-7: $45.00.

There is long-standing debate on how population growth affects national economies. A new report from Population Matters examines the history of this debate and synthesizes current research on the topic. The authors, led by Harvard economist David Bloom, conclude that population age structure, more than size or growth per se, affects economic development, and that reducing high fertility can create opportunities for economic growth if the right kinds of educational, health, and labor-market policies are in place. The report also examines specific regions of the world and how their differing policy environments have affected the relationship between population change and economic development.

In recent years, population economics has become increasingly popular in both economic and policy analysis. For the inquiry into the long term development of an economy, the interaction between demographic change and economic activity cannot be neglected without omitting major aspects of the problems. This volume helps to further developments in theoretical and applied demographical economics covering the issues of demographic change and economic development. The interaction between demographic change and economic development in the long run is one central issue. One conjecture is that it is mainly the relative population pressure which controls the pace of economic development. However, econometric evidence presented in the book does not support this hypothesis. Other papers deal with the relationships between fertility and business cycle fluctuations, the timing of births, the efficiency in intergenerational transfers, the role of open economies for the population issue, historical perspectives of demographic change in Hungary and an outline of recent developments of applied modelling using input-output models, programming models or econometric techniques.

This report addresses 9 often debated questions centered on the relationships between population growth and economic development. Specifically, it is asked whether slower population growth will: 1) increase the growth rate of per capita income through increasing per capita availability of exhaustible resources, 2) increase the growth rate of per capita income through increasing per capita availability of renewable resources, 3) alleviate pollution and the degradation of the natural environment, 4) lead to more capital per worker, thereby increasing per worker output and consumption, 5) increase per capita levels of schooling and health, 6) decrease the degree of inequality in the distribution of income, and 7) facilitate the absorption of workers into the modern sector and alleviate problems of urban growth. It is additionally asked: 8) Do lower population densities lead to lower per capita incomes via a reduced stimulus to technologic innovation and reduced exploitation of economies of scale in production and infrastructure? and 9) Does a couple's fertility behavior impose costs on society at large? The report finds little support for either the alarmist or the more complacent viewpoint regarding the economic effects of population growth. It is concluded, on balance, that slower population growth would be beneficial to economic development for most developing countries, although a rigorous quantitative assessment of these benefits is difficult and context-dependent. Whether the economic problems caused by population growth are best approached by slowing the population growth rate depends ultimately on the costs of alternative policy responses. Reducing the number of unwanted births in a family results in both direct welfare gains to the family and in gains to society at large.

Principles of Population and Development is designed to fill a significant gap in introductory teaching materials on population for undergraduate and Masters students of demography, development studies, economics, geography, and related disciplines. The text grew out of Nigel Crook's lecturesat SOAS, University of London, and its use of models and data from a wider-than-normal geographical base reflects his intention to produce a truly international course book. The book considers the debate over the relationships between population, natural resources, and development from Malthus on, and introduces recent thinking on population and environment issues. The political economy of famine and health, and of fertility and birth control, is discussed in detail.The final chapters focus on interrelationships between population change and urbanization and industrialization in the developing world. Each chapter introduces theories and ideas about population and development and then moves on to empirical and quantitative material and case studies. Demographic measures and principles are explained fully in boxes, without taking any prior technical knowledge for granted.

This volume presents a new perspective on demographic transition, economic growth, and national development via exploration of the Third World economies. It provides a multidimensional approach to the close relationship between the concept of the chaos and complexity theory and provides a deliberate glance into the plight of policy formulation for demographic transition, economic growth, and development of Third World countries. The volume discusses the efficiency of good strategies and practices and their impact on business growth and economic growth, depending on the depth and diversity of infrastructure sector in particular and overall socioeconomic development in general. Economic Growth and Demographic Transition in Third World Nations: A Chaos and Complexity Theory Perspective covers a conglomeration of various aspects and issues related to the effect of demographic transition on socio-economic development in Third World countries, especially in the post-globalized era. It focuses on the applicability of the chaos and complexity theory in order to elicit transformational policies and aims to discuss and predict future projections of the new world of the economic growth policies.

The effect of demography on economic performance has been the subject of intense debate in economics for nearly two centuries. In recent years opinion has swung between the Malthusian views of Coale and Hoover, and the cornucopian views of Julian Simon. Unfortunately, until recently, data were too weak and analytical models too limited to provide clear insights into the relationship. As a result, economists as a group have not been clear or conclusive. This volume, which is based on a collection of papers that heavily rely on data from the 1980s and 1990s and on new analytical approaches, sheds important new light on demographic—economic relationships, and it provides clearer policy conclusions than any recent work on the subject. In particular, evidence from developing countries throughout the world shows a pattern in recent decades that was not evident earlier: countries with higher rates of population growth have tended to see less economic growth. An analysis of the role of demography in the "Asian economic miracle" strongly suggests that changes in age structures resulting from declining fertility create a one-time "demographic gift" or window of opportunity, when the working age population has relatively few dependants, of either young or old age, to support. Countries which recognize and seize on this opportunity can, as the Asian tigers did, realize healthy bursts in economic output. But such results are by no means assured: only for countries with otherwise sound economic policies will the window of opportunity yield such dramatic results. Finally, several of the studies demonstrate the likelihood of a causal relationship between high fertility and poverty. While the direction of causality is not always clear and very likely is reciprocal (poverty contributes to high fertility and high fertility reinforces poverty), the studies support the view that lower fertility at the country level helps create a path out of poverty for many families. Population Matters represents an important further step in our understanding of the contribution of population change to economic performance. As such, it will be a useful volume for policymakers both in developing countries and in international development agencies.