Population Growth and Economic Development
POPULATION GROWTH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The consequences of population growth on economic development have attracted the attention of economists ever since Adam smith wrote his Wealth of nations. It was only Malthus and Ricardo who created an alarm about the effect of population growth on the economy.
Population and Economic Development
However, the consequences of population growth on the development of LDCs are not the same because the conditions prevailing in these countries are quite different from those in the developed economies. These economies are poor, capital scarce and labor abundant. Population growth adversely affects their economic development in the following ways, first faster population growth makes the choice more scarce between higher consumption now and the investment needed to bring higher consumption in the future. Economic development depends upon investment. In LDCs the resources available for investment are limited. Therefore, rapid population growth retards investment needed for higher future consumption. This is particularly the case where the majority of people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. With rapidly rising population agricultural holdings become smaller and un-remunerative to cultivate. There is no probability of increasing farm production through the use of new land (extensive cultivation). Consequently, many households continue to live in poverty. In fact, rapid population growth leads to the overuse of the land thereby jeopardizing the welfare of future generations. Even in countries where natural resources are untapped such as Brazil and other Latin American countries, rapidly increasing population makes it difficult to invest in roads, public services, drainage and other agricultural infrastructure needed to tap such resources. Lastly, with rapidly growing population, it becomes difficult to manage the adjustments that accompany economic and social change. Urbanization in LDCs creates such problems as
The consequences of population growth on economic development have attracted the attention of economists ever since Adam smith wrote his Wealth of nations. It was only Malthus and Ricardo who created an alarm about the effect of population growth on the economy.
Population and Economic Development
However, the consequences of population growth on the development of LDCs are not the same because the conditions prevailing in these countries are quite different from those in the developed economies. These economies are poor, capital scarce and labor abundant. Population growth adversely affects their economic development in the following ways, first faster population growth makes the choice more scarce between higher consumption now and the investment needed to bring higher consumption in the future. Economic development depends upon investment. In LDCs the resources available for investment are limited. Therefore, rapid population growth retards investment needed for higher future consumption. This is particularly the case where the majority of people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. With rapidly rising population agricultural holdings become smaller and un-remunerative to cultivate. There is no probability of increasing farm production through the use of new land (extensive cultivation). Consequently, many households continue to live in poverty. In fact, rapid population growth leads to the overuse of the land thereby jeopardizing the welfare of future generations. Even in countries where natural resources are untapped such as Brazil and other Latin American countries, rapidly increasing population makes it difficult to invest in roads, public services, drainage and other agricultural infrastructure needed to tap such resources. Lastly, with rapidly growing population, it becomes difficult to manage the adjustments that accompany economic and social change. Urbanization in LDCs creates such problems as