Population Theories in Economics

One of the most popular topics in the modern world is population. Every country is concerned and striving for the good of its people. Any country's population has the power to increase its success and propel it to new heights of accomplishment. The population's quality is the nation's means of demonstrating to the world how many people are capable of becoming tomorrow's global leaders. 

 

The same kind of situation is present everywhere in India, one of the nations with the highest population growth.The largest asset for India as a nation is also its population. Despite the fact that everyone in our diverse nation has a completely distinct upbringing, we all share some sort of connection. Because of the way the country's population has learned to increase, the country stands for a sense of community.

 

Population Growth Theories

 

Malthusian Principle

 

• One of the most influential early researchers in population statistics was Thomas Robert Malthus (1766–1834).

• His conceptualization of the population was a turning point in population history. He strengthened the link between demography and social progress.

• The rate at which land subsistence could be enhanced was outpaced by the rate of human reproduction.

• Malthus continued by asserting that population growth will increase in a geometric proportion if left unchecked. The cost of living only rises in arithmetic ratios.

• In conclusion, Malthusian theory proposes that the population must be controlled by providing resources.

• The population will eventually rise as means of subsistence advance, barring some extraordinarily severe and clear restrictions.

• Malthus was also criticized for his assertion that population growth was the cause of poverty by liberal and Marxist academics.

 

Also Read | Economic Security: Understanding its Significance and Examples | Analytics Steps

 

Neo-Malthusian Theory

 

• Neo-Malthusian researcher Paul Ehrlich carried Malthus' predictions into the twenty-first century.

• Ehrlich, however, thinks that the environment will be more important for the long-term health of the planet's population than the food supply (Ehrlich 1968).

• According to Ehrlich's theories, affluent people are rapidly approaching a total environmental collapse as they deplete or contaminate a range of natural resources like water and air.

• He advocated for the ZPG goal, which states that the number of individuals joining a population through birth or immigration must equal the number of persons leaving it through emigration or death.

• Although there is a mixed response to this idea, it is nevertheless thought to hold some promise for reducing global overpopulation.

 

Marxist Thought

 

• Many people refer to Karl Marx (1818–1833) as the "Father of Communism."

• His surplus population idea was developed from his communist theory, albeit he did not offer a separate population theory.

• Marx opposed and criticized the Malthusian population theory outspokenly.

• Karl Marx, a fierce opponent of capitalism, saw population growth very differently.

• Marx believed that the capitalist system, which abused poor workers, was to blame for these social problems.

• Marx developed a rational, scientific account of human history. He argued that there are scientific explanations for social phenomena just as there are for physical happenings.

• He argued that the fundamental nature of history is transformed in any civilization's modes of production, and that this transformation is ongoing and progressive.

• Karl Marx went much further, asserting that capitalist accumulation and unfair economic distribution were to blame for famine. There is no connection to the wider public.

• Organizations in the social and economic spheres are essential to the welfare of the populace.

 

Theory of Demographic Transition

 

• Frank W. Notestein (1945) popularized the phrase "demographic transition," which was first coined by Warren S. Thompson in 1929.

• describing a historical process of change that explains patterns in births, deaths, and population growth in modern industrialized civilizations, especially in European societies.

• For the most part, this population shift started in the late 18th century.

• It is better to think of the demographic transition as a general description of the evolutionary process than as a "rule of population increase."

• In a nutshell, it is a theory that aims to clarify the general principles by which the number and structure of human populations increase as a result of industrialisation.

• It is widely acknowledged as a useful tool for outlining a nation's demographic past.

• The obvious stages of change that define the demographic transition theory.

• Three stages can be used to describe the change from high to low birth and mortality rates (other researchers, like Haggett (1975), divided it into four or five stages):

• High and erratic birth and death rates, along with slow population growth, characterize the pre-transition period.

 

Stage I: Quickly expanding population, high birth rates, and declining mortality rates.

Stage II: Slow population increase brought on by low rates of birth and mortality.

Stage III: Both the birth and mortality rates drastically decrease, leading to a population growth rate of zero.

 

Principle of Maximum Population

 

• The population size that produces the highest income per person is the ideal population size.

• Income per capita is impacted by any population growth or decline that exceeds or falls short of the desired level.

• Given a nation's natural resource base, production technique, and capital stock, there is a population size that corresponds to the highest per capita income.

• With everything else being equal, every departure from the ideal population size causes a reduction in per capita income.

• The nation is underpopulated and can afford to raise its population until it reaches the ideal level if population growth is accompanied by a rise in per capita income.

• The maximum per capita income is at the optimal point; after that, the average labor output starts to decline.

• The ideal population fluctuates when any of the constituents changes; it is not a constant.

• Production per worker increases as manufacturing processes and procedures advance, shifting the optimal point upward.

• Its optimum point will increase when the nation's availability of natural resources grows as well.

• In response to changes in the means of production, both quantitative and qualitative, the ideal population is susceptible to change.

 

Cornucopian Hypothesis

 

• Some possibilities, however, are less concerned with the gloomy notion that the world's population will confront a dangerous survival problem.

• The idea of mankind destroying itself is rejected by cornucopian philosophy, which asserts that any environmental or societal issues can be solved by human innovation.

• It offers the provision of food as an illustration. The belief is that agricultural specialists will figure out how to grow more food if we need it, as they did for centuries.

• There is no reason why human creativity won't continue to rise to the occasion; after all, it has done so for thousands of years.

 

The Malthusian Theory's Importance

 

• The Malthusian idea has certain components that are worth considering. Humans are very motivated to procreate. This preserves the tradition and lineage of the family. 

• Therefore, if birth control measures are not implemented, the population will inevitably increase quickly.Malthus's presumptions about affirmative checks are mostly accurate. 

• History has revealed that as a nation's population grows, thousands of people perish in natural disasters.After considering these issues, it is possible to conclude that the idea has some merit. 

• No one can dispute that Thomas Malthus only revealed a partial truth in his thesis on population rise, according to some of the most prominent economists of our time.

 

Criticism of the Malthusian Theory of Population

 

On the basis of the following observations, the Malthusian theory was criticized:

 

• The population was growing quickly in Western Europe. The availability of food had also grown at the same period as a result of technical advancements.

• Food production has frequently expanded faster than population growth. For instance, in the US, 2% of the workforce is employed in agriculture. Nevertheless, the GDP as a whole exceeds $14 trillion.

• According to Malthus's theory, the lack of available land is one of the factors contributing to the world's food shortage. However, as globalization has accelerated, there is now more food available in more places.

• Malthus did not provide estimates for either the geometric expansion of the population or the arithmetic growth of the population. It was claimed that the growth rate does not support Malthus' theory.

 

Conclusion

 

Since the beginning of time, population theory (the size and change of populations) has drawn attention. Numerous ancient thinkers, including Confucius, Kautilya, Ibn Khaldun, and Plato, as well as contemporary philosophers, like Adam Smith, David Richard, and others, have made significant direct or oblique statements about population concerns. Sociologists have long viewed population issues as being essential to comprehending human interactions in Theories of Population Growth.