Last taught: Spring 1996
Biju Rao
This course will present an overview of the causes and consequences of population growth in the world's poorer countries. One aim will be to understand how policy initiatives in combination with changes in human behaviour led to an explosion in the number of human beings from about 100 million in the early 19th century to over 5 billion today. We will study both sides of the population boom story: the vast improvement in health conditions that resulted in a rapid decline in rates of death, and the much slower reduction in rates of birth that have only recently begun to reach levels that will stabilize population size.
Following this we will study two very important consequences of population growth. We will begin by looking at migration and urbanization - large scale movements of human beings from areas of limited opportunity to regions where they believe they will have access to a better life. We will study both cross-national migration and urbanization - the exodus of people from rural to urban areas in developing countries. We will then study the impact of population growth on the environment - on greenhouse emissions, global warming and resource scarcity. My lectures will end with a critical evaluation of population policy. The last week of class will be devoted to your class presentations.
The course will involve a lot discussion, and I will assume that you have done the readings before coming to class.
Movies:
In addition to the basic readings in this syllabus, I will also show at least two full-length feature films that will "experientially" illustrate some of the issues that we will be studying. The movie schedule will be announced about two weeks ahead of each showing.
Prerequisites: Econ 101 - Introductory Economics
Course Evaluation:
There will be a mid-term and a non-cumulative final exam, each worth 25% of the grade and about an hour and fifteen minutes long.
45 % of the grade will be come from a twenty page paper which should explore some population issue that we have not had the time to cover in class time. I will be providing you with possible paper topics, but you may also come up with one on your own. A proposal for the paper with a bibliography will be due on March 14th. A draft version of the paper will be due by the last week of April, and the final version will be due on the last day of classes. You will asked to share your findings with the rest of the class in the final week.
5% of the grade will be determined by the quality of your class participation and presentation.
1) John R. Weeks, Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues, 6th Edition, Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996
2) A Packet of Supplementary Readings Available in Seeley House
February 1st
Introduction and Course Overview
Weeks: Chapter 1, "Introduction."
" : Chapter 2: "An Overview of the World's Population."
February 8-13th
Weeks: Chapter 3, "Demographic Perspectives."
T. Paul Schultz, Economics of Population, Addison-Wesley , 1981.
Chapter 1 - "From Malthus to Models of Household Demands"
Chapter 2 - "Pre-Industrial Equilibrium: A Malthusian Perspective"
John C. Caldwell, "Towards a Restatement of Demographic Transition Theory," Population and Development Review, Sep./Dec. 1976.
February 15th
Population Change and Economic Development ,World Bank, 1987
Chapter 2 - "Demographic Change and Public Policy"
Chapter 3 - "The Consequences of Rapid Population Growth"
February 20 - 27th
Francine Blau and Marriane Ferber, "The Family as an Economic Unit.
T.Paul Shultz, "The Shadow Value of Time." Pages 77-92.
Blau and Ferber, "The Consequences of Women's Employment for the Family.
Weeks, Chapter 10, "Population Growth and Household Structure."
February 29th
Weeks, Chapter 4, "Fertility Concepts and Measurements."
March 1-5th
Weeks Chapter 5, " Fertility Trends, Levels, Explanations."
John C. Caldwell, P.H. Reddy and Pat Caldwell, "The Determinants of Fertility Decline," Chapter 2, The Causes of Demographic Change: Experimental Research in South India , The University of Wisconsin Press, 1988
March 7th
Penny Cane, The Second Billion, "Family Planning in Rural Areas."
Knodel, Chamratrithirong, and Debavalya, Thailand's Reproductive Revolution, Chapter 7 Societal Change and the Demand for Children," and Chapter 8 "The Role of Organized Family-Planning Efforts."
March 12th
Weeks, Chapter 6
(Paper proposals due)
March 14th
World Development Report, World Bank , 1993.
Chapter 1, "Health in Developing Countries."
Chapter 2, "Housework and Health."
April 2
Mid-Term Examination
April 4 - 9th
Chapter 3, World Development Report, World Bank , 1993, "The Roles of the Government and the Market in Health."
John C. Caldwell, P.H. Reddy and Pat Caldwell, "The Social Component of Mortality Decline," Chapter 6, The Causes of Demographic Change: Experimental Research in South India , The University of Wisconsin Press, 1988
Nancy Scheper Hughes, "Two Feet Under and a Carboard Coffin," Chapter 7 from Dealth Without Weeping
April 11th
Weeks, Chapter 7 "Migration"
Chapter 12 "Population Growth and Urbanization."
April 16th
Michael Todaro, "Urbanization and Rural-Urban Migration: Trends, Theories and Policies,"
Chapter 8 in Economic Development by Michael Todaro, Longman, 1994
April 18th
Hemalata Dandekar, "Bombay Jobs and Bombay Lives," from Men to Bombay and Women at Home
Antonio McDaniel, "Migration and Colonization in Liberia," from Swing Low Sweet Chariot
April 23rd
Weeks, Chapter 14, "Population Growth, Food and the Environment."
Nathan Keyfitz, "Towards a Theory of Population-Development Interaction," Pp. 295-314 in Resources, Environment and Population, K. Davis and M.S. Bernstam (eds.) Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1991
Ronald D. Lee, "Comment: The Second Tragedy of the Commons," Pp. 315-322, in Davis and Bernstam, 1991.
April 30th
Martin Falkenmark, "Rapid Population Growth and Water Scarcity: The Predicament of Tomorrow's Africa," Pp. 81-94 , in Davis and Bernstam, 1991
Nancy Birdsall, "Another Look at Population and Global Warming," Working Paper, Policy Research - Population, Health and Nutrition Department, The World Bank, November 1992
May 2nd
Weeks, Chapter 15, "Population Policy."
Vandana Shiva and Maria Mies, "Introduction" and "People or Population, Towards and New Ecology of Reproduction," from Ecofemism.
May 7 - 9th
Class Presentations of Papers
Final draft of the paper is due on May 10th