First Published in 1991. This book holds the proceedings of the United Nations Institut national d' etudes demographiques Expert Group Meeting, New York, held on the 23-26 August 1988. Topics include the global trends in population growth, adaptation to rapid population growth, aspects and normative problems.
Until the early to mid-1970s, social scientists in the fields of population and development were largely going their own ways. Demographers relied almost exclusively on demographic transition theory as their para digm for understanding the role of development in population change and fertility decline. Conversely, most development economists and other specialists were certainly aware of the constraints placed upon development objectives by population growth. However, the main de velopment theories paid little attention to population and the implica tions of population growth for development. Indeed it was not until after the World Population Conference in Bucharest in 1974 that the interaction of population and development became a serious and pur posive theme for social scientific study. Accordingly, since about the mid-1970s, an extensive literature in the field of population and develop ment has been generated. And in 1975, under the auspices of The Popu lation Council, the journal Population and Development Review was found ed, a journal which in the past decade has developed into the premier publication in the world for work in this area. But our understanding of development as it refers to change in Third World countries remained fragmented. Moreover, our understanding of the linkages and interac tions between population and development was very limited. It is in this regard that Ozzie Simmons's Perspectives on Development and Population Growth in the Third World will certainly have an impact.
This book examines the nature and significance of the impact of population growth on the weIl-being of developing countries-in particular, the effects on economic growth, education, health, food supply, housing, poverty, and the environment. In addition, because family planning programmes often significantly affect population growth, the study examines the impacts of family planning on fertility and health, and the human rights implications of family planning programmes. In considering the book's conclusions about the impact of population growth on development, four caveats should be noted. First, the effects of population growth vary from place to place and over time. Thus, blanket statements about overall effects often cannot be made. Where possible, the authors note the contexts in which population effects are strongest and weakest. Second, all of the outcomes examined in this book are influenced by factors other than population growth. Moreover, the impact of population growth may itself vary according to the presence or absence of other factors. This again makes bl anket statements about the effects of population growth difficult. Throughout the chapters, the authors try to identify other relevant factors that influence the outcomes we discuss or that influence the impact of population growth on those outcomes.
Congressional report on rapid population growth and industrial development in developing countries, with reference to the implications for role of USA multinational enterprises - addresses development theory issues and the problems of industrialization, food security, agricultural development, USA dependency on metal and ore imports, etc. Maps, references, statistical tables.
Allan and Anne Findlay argue that a nation's human population is a vital resource in the development process. Changes in its composition - increased life expectancy combined with a falling birth rate, for example - can have profound effects upon a society. Warfare and mass migration of male workers also have long-reaching effects on those left behind. The rapid growth of Third World populations has often incorrectly been identified as the major force preventing more rapid economic development. Population pressure has been known to generate technological breakthroughs. Their final chapter examines family planning programmes, and concludes by asking who benefits most from population policies and questioning the right of developed countries to advocate family planning programmes for Third World nations.
The Bank's comparative advantage in the population field lies in policy development, which it pursues through three main strategies: policy dialogue, sector work, and policy- oriented research.
