Introduction

The link between poverty and population growth is a highly debatable issue. One school of thought puts forward the view that high population growth is a trigger rather than an impact of poor economic development. Adherents to this view will argue that the prevailing macro economic structures and policies within any one nation will be impeded by these negative demographic trends. On the other hand, some individuals adhere to the converse argument that poor economies trigger high population increases. These are the underlying problems in the two views expressed by Srinivasan (1992) and World Bank (1984). The essay shall attempt to compare the differences and similarities between these latter views in order to come up with a sound conclusion at the end of it all.

Comparison

In the initial argument put forward by the World Bank, there is an attempt to link high population growth rate to macroeconomic and sectoral policies in that the former impedes the latter. This is quite comparable to the view put forward by Srinivasan simply because he asserts that low fertility rates can be linked to improved public expenditure. Public expenditure on education and health are direct indicators of macroeconomic policies and 1 can consequently conclude that the two arguments concur with one yet another. (CIDA, 1987)

It is a recognized reality that high population growth rates demand excess supply of natural resources. But considering that resources are rarely discovered in excess, it is likely that they will become scarce. Scarcity causes members of the population to demand more from their government in terms of financial gains. When population growth rates soar, chances are that there will be large inequality between inhabitants and this is likely to spark off some sort of conflicts between them. As a result, such countries could be characterized by intense civil unrest. Countries like Sierra Leone and Somali testify to such an argument. The final result of these conflicts is that the economy is ruined. All the macroeconomic and sectoral policies will also be undermined too.

Demographic behavior is primarily determined by external forces. Some of them include

Cultural patterns
Social organization
Economic forces

The argument put forward by Srinivasan is that bad economic policies cause poverty. This is also an argument in the statement made by the World Bank. The major link behind these two standpoints is the truth that numerous countries associated with high population growth rates are the developing countries. These countries are merely attempting to embrace development in the very best way they know how. Consequently, numerous parents are beginning to see the advantages of education. This means that such families will need to guarantee top quality upbringing of the girl child. There is a need to shift from the standard view point of valuing many young children (simply because this undermines parent’s abilities to educate them) to valuing fewer young children. Consequently, societies with higher population growth rates are far more prone to educational troubles as compared to societies with lower population. Eventually, this now translates to selectivity. More families might choose to select some of their kids over others in order to cover educational expenses. This is the reason why the education of the girl child is likely to decrease in high population growth rate areas. (World Bank, 1992) Traditionally, such economies would favor high fertility rates since this would imply much more labor for the family members and also greater sources of wealth through dowry payments. Nonetheless, in the modern day world, this view no longer holds water due to the fact larger family members sizes undermine educational top quality.

Srinivasan also talks about the latter impact in relation to wellness structures. This is some thing that can also be observed in the statement produced by World Bank given that they are claiming that high population growth can undermine the economy.

The latter argument is founded on the assumption that kids are the ultimate victims of high population growth rates. This means that most societies characterized by high fertility rates/ high population growth rates also have poor spacing between their kids and typically register greater instances of unwanted pregnancy. The two authors above hold similar views when it comes to this issue since such families will have lower levels of birth control. Consequently, their young children may possibly not access excellent wellness services. Such youngsters might register vey low birth weights and they are also very likely to have stunted growth. What this translates to ultimately is a continuous cycle of poverty in the next generation since the previous generation had no capability to care for their next of kin. (FAO, 2002)

As one can see, there is a vicious cycle that arises in both statements the World Bank and Srinivasan this means that the greater the population, the lower the economic security. Component of this could be brought about by the reality that most youngsters from poor families rarely have access to good nutrition and well being infrastructures. In addition, their education is also undermined. Consequently, they will be unable to meet productivity expectations placed upon them by society. This means that they will register low incomes and the poverty trend will persist in other generations. Such levels of poverty will imply that the macro economic policies in place will be undermined greatly but they caused the distinction in the first place. (World Resource Institute, 1992)

It is also worth noting that some of the views put forward by the World Bank hint towards the provision of sound macro economic policies in the procedure of lowering population growth and hence enhancing development. This is some thing that the statements made by Srinivasan did not focus on. The assumption behind statements produced by World Bank is that the higher the population within any one country, the lower their level of security. Consequently, most of their labor marketplace (which happens to be informal) will be undermined. In order for a society to boast of any level of social progress, there wants to be some sort of predictability in the social relations sector. High population growth rates undermine this and consequently impede efforts towards economic development.

Country

Population 2005

(millions)

Population projection (millions)

% Married ladies using contraception (contemporary strategies)

GNI PPP per capita 2004 (US$ )

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) [Children per Woman]

Replacement = 2.1

2025

2050

Afghanistan

29.9

50.three

81.9

4

-

6.8

Brazil

184.2

228.9

259.8

70

8,020

2.four

Burkina Faso

13.9

22.5

39.5

9

1,220

6.2

China

1,303.7

1,476.

1,437.

86

five,530

1.6

Congo (Dem Rep)

60.8

108.

183.2

4

680

6.7

El Salvador

6.9

9.1

10.8

67

four,980

three.

Iraq

28.8

44.7

63.7

25

-

5.1

Source: Population and Sustainability Network (2006): Population Growth retrieved from file http://www.appg-popdevrh.org.uk/Publications/Population Hearings/Evidence/PSN evience.do accessed on 3rd June 2008

The table above is utilized to indicate the relationship between gross national income purchasing power parity and fertility rates. Brazil and China are amongst the countries with the lowest fertility rates. This means that their rate of population growth rate is also quite low. Their buying power parities (abbreviated as GNI PP) are among the highest in the list.

On the other hand, countries like Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo have the highest fertility rates and this also coincides with low gross national income buying parities. These results indicate that there is indeed a link between population growth and economic development as asserted by both authors (World Resource Institute, 1992)

Conclusion

Both statements hold the view that high population growth rate undermines economic development. This means that they both adhere to the fact that high population growth rates trigger a strain on the resources and this could spark civil unrest. The latter ultimately undermines economic growth. In addition, high population growth rate also undermines educational and wellness infrastructures and this impedes the economy. Nevertheless, the converse argument is also true that poor health leads to low productivity hence low economic development. There is cycle produced between these two aspects as seen in statements created by Srinivasan and the World Bank. Lastly, the World Bank talks about labor as a macro economic policy issue this is an problem that has not been addressed by the other author. According to the World Bank there is an underlying assumption that high levels of poverty undermine social patterns in relation to informal labor and this eventual impedes economic development. (World Resource Institute, 1992)

Reference:

Population and Sustainability Network (2006): Population Growth retrieved from file http://www.appg-popdevrh.org.uk/Publications/Population Hearings/Evidence/PSN evidence.do accessed on 3rd June 2008

CIDA (1987): Sharing Our Future Journal by the Ministry of Supply and Services Canada, Ottawa, p. 55, No. 3, Vol. 8

FAO (2002): Food and Agriculture A Report by Unipub, Rome, July 2002

World Bank, (1992): Development and the Environment Oxford University Press, p. 27

World Resource Institute (1992): World Resources Oxford University Press p. 76.

Oxford College