The Political Economics of Population Growth: The Case of China

1971 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pi-Chao Chen

Some economists argue that high population density and rapid population growth are not in themselves impediments to economic development. On the basis of a quantitative analysis of historical data, Simon Kuznets, for instance, concludes that, historically, rates of economic development have not significantly correlated, either positively or negatively, with rates of population growth. Similarly, E. E. Hagen observes that “nowhere in the world has population growth induced by rising income been sufficient to halt the rise in income. … The historical record indicates that rise in income in these societies has failed to occur not because something thwarted it, but because no force has been present to cause income to rise.

Author(s):  
Elena Pekhtereva ◽  

The review examines the results of the December 2020 official census of the population of China, the most populous country in the world. It is noted that the Chinese government is seriously concerned about the low rate of population growth. The authorities fear that a slowdown in population growth and its aging while the size of the labour force is decreasing may seriously slow down economic growth. The opinions and statements of analysts on the prospects of the demographic situation in China in the context of its socio-economic development are presented.


Author(s):  
Giovanni Andrea Cornia

This chapter reviews population trends over the last two hundred years and population projections to the end of this century. In 2100 the world population will have stabilized but its geographical distribution will have substantially changed compared to 2015. The chapter then discusses the five stages of the demographic transition, and different neo-Malthusian and non-Malthusian theories of the relation between population growth and economic development. It emphasizes in particular the effects of rapid population growth on land and resource availability, human capital formation, population quality, the accumulation of physical capital, employment, wages, and income inequality. The effects of rapid population growth rate over a given period were found to change in line with the population size and density at the beginning of the period considered.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Lee

It was a different era when Gary Becker did his groundbreaking work on the economics of fertility, during the years from the late 1950 through the early 1990s. There was great concern then about the “population explosion” due to sustained high fertility in the developing world after mortality declined following World War II. In 1968, Paul Ehrlich published “The Population Bomb” predicting disaster and mass starvation due to rapid population growth: “The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s, the world will undergo famines – hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death. . . .” Robert McNamara, then the President of the World Bank, in 1984 said “Short of thermonuclear war itself, population growth is the gravest issue the world faces over the decades immediately ahead. If we do not act, the problem will be solved by famine, riots, insurrection and war.”


Author(s):  
Melissa Feinberg

This chapter analyzes the political function of show trials in Eastern Europe. It argues that while show trials told lies, their primary purpose was to reveal new truths about the Cold War world to their East European audiences. Show trials described a world where the peace-loving socialist East was continually menaced by the imperialist West, which sent spies and saboteurs to wreck its economic development and plotted to destroy it in a nuclear war. These political plays told East Europeans how they should see the world and clarified the consequences of non-compliance. This chapter also examines how people around the region were required to voice their condemnation of the traitors on trial and dedicate themselves to the search for hidden enemies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltán Bajmócy ◽  
Judit Gébert

According to the common sense, experts, backed up by scientific methods, describe the “possible states of the world” in a value-neutral way. Then, in the political arena, delegates build on these proposals, but also consider values and interests. The present paper attempts to revise such an understanding of local economic development (LED) and argues that many of the deficiencies deriving from such a view can be remedied by deliberative participation, which is not merely a theoretical necessity, but also a practical possibility.With regard to the issue of public participation and deliberation, the paper identifies two main approaches in the LED literature: the “political” and the “apolitical”, of which the latter is mainly characterised by economic theorising. We take a closer look at the “apolitical” approach and demonstrate that in fact it is very much political. Therefore, we call for the transgression of the borderline between politics and expertise in LED, and suggest a joint democratisation of these interrelated terrains. We argue that deliberative participation is able to contribute to the quality of both the expert proposals and the working of the politics.


1977 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Edmonston ◽  
Frank Wm. Oechsli

Venezuela has experienced significant economic development during recent decades, although rapid population growth has partially offset economic gains. During the five-year period 1969-1973, the gross national product increased at an annual rate of 5.0 percent, which, coupled with population growth, yielded real per capita increases of 2.6 percent annually. Relatively smooth transition in the nationalization of the Venezuelan oil industry in 1976 presents a favorable assessment for the economy during the next decade. Yet while there has been notable progress in conventional economic indicators, there have been less rapid improvements in education, nutrition, and health. This paper examines past trends in Venezuelan population growth within the context of general social and economic development. Because of the importance of fertility in affecting population growth, particular attention is paid to fertility trends.


2014 ◽  
Vol 955-959 ◽  
pp. 3696-3700
Author(s):  
Zhi Rong Zheng ◽  
Chao Yang Feng ◽  
Sheng Xing Ye ◽  
Zhao Yan Diao ◽  
Shi Hai Lv

In this study, we sought to analyze the pressures of the grassland ecosystem in China and explore practical countermeasures to protect grassland biodiversity. The prominent ecological problems in grassland biodiversity conservation included rapid population growth, economic development, resource exploitation and global climate change, among which human interferences strongly influenced the grassland ecosystem. Rapid population growth and economic development still severely restricted biodiversity conservation, but coal resource exploitation gradually developed a new serious pressure for grassland biodiversity. In addition, climate change further aggravated biodiversity loss. According to these pressures, we proposed several practical countermeasures such as readjusting the industrial structure, and relieving the pressures of grassland, and conducting near-natural restoration as well as carrying out ecological compensation. This study will provide the scientific reference for manager and policy-makers of grassland biodiversity conservation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Yixiao Guo

This research paper analyses the main purposes the Beijing subway system, which served from 1969 to now as a tool of political defense as well as a transportation system. The notion to construct the system arose in 1953, but the first section of today’s Line 1 did not open until September 1969.  Today, the Beijing subway system is the world’s busiest in terms of annual ridership and the world’s second longest subway system, ranking only behind Shanghai’s. (Xinhua News Agency, 2017, http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2017-12/30/c_1122188643.htm.) The political and economic development and trends in China in the second half of 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century, such as the Cultural Revolution and the 2008 Olympics, affected the subway system’s development greatly. This paper examines Chinese documents with the aim of providing a general understanding of the development and purpose of the Beijing system, through political, economic and technical analysis, among others, of its history. There exists almost no document, ¬¬either in English or Chinese, that analyzes the development of Beijing’s subway system. However, this topic should be considered important, as it provides an alternative way of viewing the development of China and its governing principles throughout its late-20th century and current-day history.


Author(s):  
Ensar Nişancı ◽  
Durmuş Çağrı Yıldırım ◽  
Nüket Kırcı Çevik ◽  
Veli Sırım

This chapter examines Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, politically, culturally, socially, and economically. The main purpose of this chapter is to reveal the obstacles to the economic development of Indonesia and to develop policy recommendations for them. The chapter begins with three of the major political and cultural issues of a country's general structure: socio-political structure, socio-cultural properties and political-administrative structure and institutions. The fourth and fifth parts of this chapter analyze the country's economic situation and economic potential. The following parts continue with handling other significant points which are the political, social, cultural and economic factors affecting the country's international relations. The author concludes this chapter with the leading obstacles to the economic development of Indonesia and some policy recommendations which have the potential to pave the way to country's growth in terms of economy. This section is not supported by empirical findings.


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