Population and Economic Development

Abstract

Assessing the consequences of population on the pace and process of economic growth is one of the oldest themes in the literature on economics. These assessments have varied enormously over time, spanning the highly pessimistic to the outright optimistic. A systematic review of the major studies in this literature represents a useful way to organize a survey of the consequences of demographic change. Such an approach places the population debates in perspective, and it infuses a healthy dose of caution in appraising current debates. This paper assesses how the "bottom-line" appraisals of the consequences of demographic change on development have changed over time; why they have changed; what the most recent contributions to this literature are; and what major uncertainties in these assessments merit particular attention by future research.

Keywords: Revisionism, Population Consequences

JEL Classification: J1, B2, N3, N31