Population and Economic Growth

Paper Summary:

In this article the writer notes that while overpopulation has long been a concern among population geographers, the acceleration of industrial development around the world in recent years has complicated analysis considerably. This essay critically explores this issue in order to interrogate the underlying assumptions linking development to population and quality of life. The paper demonstrates that correlation is not causality, in that economic growth and development may correlate with, but is not a causal factor in regard to, quality of life. Additionally, the paper relates that advocates of economic development as the curative measure for quality of life deficits in many countries frequently blur this distinction between correlation and causality in comparing and contrasting different jurisdictions and situations. The paper then shows that, nonetheless, these issues must be considered critically in a wider context in order to more fully understand the complexity of the debate and the flawed nature of the equation of economic development with quality of life.

Outline:
Introduction
Connections
Overpopulation, Rate of Development and Quality of Life
Unequal Benefits: Development and Population
Conclusions and Solutions
Bibliography

From the Paper:

"However, the reality is much more complex. Critics argue that it is not only the fact of economic development but also the rate of economic development which is significant in assessing quality of life in that a highly accelerated level of growth reduces the capacity of the state or institutional forces to develop policies to address problems that are a consequence of growth. This can be seen in term of the damage to the Chinese environment.
"The Chinese government is aware of the environmental consequences of growth and, as in they did earlier with regard to China's birth policy, have taken steps to attempt to address some of these problems. For example, as forests are often cut to supply wood for building, fire and other human uses, China has embarked upon a highly ambitious tree planting program. This program has been successful to the degree that China has reported increasing its total forest cover."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Enerdata. Data Finder. Accessed: January 2007. <http:www.worldenergy.org/wergeis/global/downloads/eepi/wec_mex.pdf>
• Human Development Reports. Statistic. Accessed: January 2007. <http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2005/>
• Livernash, Robert. "The Future of Populous Economies: China and India Shape Their Destinies." From Course Reader: Issues in Population Geography. Ed. J. Leydon. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007.
• Mann, Charles. "How Many is Too Many?" From Course Reader: Issues in Population Geography. Ed. J. Leydon. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007.
• Muth, Annemarie. Statistical Abstract of the World. United States of America: Editorial Code & Data Inc, 1997.

More papers on Population and Economic Growth:

• Dissertation or Thesis # 68917 : " Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Economic Growth"
• Essay # 72835 : "Population Indicators And Economic Indicators"
• Analytical Essay # 114885 : "Is Economic Growth Beneficial?"

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