1) Population in China: Until recently, Chinese families did not much alter their fertility depending on life events such as deaths of children. However, under government prodding and eventually coercion, fertility dropped drastically in China in the 1970s, but to counteract momentum, the One-Child Policy started in 1979-80. 2) Population Growth and Economic Development: In Asia, rapid fertility drops have preceded economic booms by approximately fifteen years. In this time, children grow up and become workers. With many workers and fewer children to support, savings and investments rise causing the boom. Non-Asian countries with rapid fertility drops, like Ireland, fit this model. Sub-Saharan Africa, with still high fertility, makes little economic progress.

Reading assignment:

Bermingham, John. "Poor Countries Have Many Problems: Economic Development Is not an Easy Job." The Tanzania Times (March 1997), pp. 5-14

Weeks, John R. Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues, chapter 12

Bloom, David and David Canning. "How Demographic Change Can Bolster Economic Performance in Developing Countries." World Economics, Vol. 4, no. 4 (2003), pp. 1-13

Higgins, Matthew and Jeffrey Williamson. "Age Structure Dynamics in Asia and Dependence on Foreign Capital." Population and Development Review, no. 23 (June 1997), pp. 261-293

Birdsall, Nancy and Steven Sinding. Why Population Matters, pp. 6-17

Resources: Notes - Lecture 18 [PDF]