The Economics of Population Growth (Princeton Legacy Library, 5405)

Comparison with stationary and very fast rates of population growth shows modern population grwoth to have long-run positive effects on the standards of living. This is Julian Simon's contention, and he provides support for its validity in both more and less-developed countries. He notes that since each person constitutes a burden in the short run, whether population growth is judged good or bad depends on the importance the short run is accorded relative to the long run. The author first analyzes empirical data, formulating his conclusions using simulation models. He then reviews our knowledge of the effect of economic level upon population growth. A final section of his book considers the framework of welfare economics and values within which population policy decisions are now made. He finds that the implications of policy decisions can prove inconsistent with the values that prompt their recommendation. Julian L. Simon is Professor of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Illinois. Originally published in 1977. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905 CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS LIST OF SYMBOLS FOREWORD Chapter I: Introduction to the Issues and to the Book PART I: The Effects of Population Growth on Economic Conditions Introduction Chapter 2: The Effect of Population Growth on the Economic Level: Background, Comparative Statics, and General Dynamic Model Chapter 3: The Influence of Population Growth on Income in Developed Economies: Data, Theories, and Micro-Economic Variables Chapter 4: Macro-Economic Influences of Population Growth on Income in Developed Economies Chapter 5: Natural Resources, Pollution, and Population Growth in MDC's Chapter 6: The Effect of Population on Per- Worker Income in MDC's: A Simulation Chapter 7: The Effect of Population Growth on LDC Economies and Their Development: The Model in General Chapter 8: Change in Agricultural Techniques: The Population-Push and Invention-Pull Theories of Economic-Demographic History Reconciled Chapter 9: Behavior Change, Amount of Work, and Population Increase in LDC Agriculture Appendix to Chapter 9: Case Study of the Sensitivity of Agricultural Productive Behavior to Increase in Farm Population in Village India Chapter 10: The Effect of Additional Children on Nonfarm Physical and Human Capital in LDC's Appendix to Chapter 10: Criticism of the Coale-Hoover Results Chapter 11: The Effect of Population Growth on Agricultural Investment in LDC's Chapter 12: The Effect of Population Growth on Social Capital and Economies of Scale Chapter 13: Simulations of the Effect of Population Growth on the Economic Development of LDC's PART II: The Effects of Economic Conditions on Fertility Chapter 14: The Effect of Income on Fertility: Basic Theory and Concepts Appendix to Chapter 14: A Formal Reconciliation of the Contradiction between Time-Series and Cross-Section Evidence on Income and Fertility Chapter 15: The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Income on Fertility in MDC's Chapter 16: The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of lncome on Fertility in LDC's Chapter 17: Incentives and Income Redistribution as Devices to Alter Fertility PART III: Economic Decisions about Population Growth Chapter 18: The Welfare Economics of Fertility Appendix to Chapter 18: Some Additional Issues Chapter 19: The Per-Capita-Income Criterion and Natality Policies in Poor Countries Chapter 20: The Value of Averted Births to People in the LDC's Chapter 21: A Cost-Benefit Decision Method for LDC Fertility Reduction Programs Chapter 22: Birth-Control Market-Segmentation Strategy, or How To Increase Contraceptive Usage Chapter 23: Summary and Conclusions Chapter 24: Some Speculations Appendix: Common Objections to the Book's Conclusions and Some Simplified Rebuttals References Index