Case Study 1:
Topic: Population Control
Geographical Area: China
Link: http://personal.colby.edu/personal/t/thtieten/pop-chi.html
Source: Carol A. Scotese and Ping Wang, “Can Government Enforcement Permanently Alter Fertility? The Case of China”, Economic Inquiry, October 1995, p 552-569.
This case study analyzes China’s population control policy and its impacts. China has the highest population in the world which creates serious economic and social challenges. Overpopulation can increase the consumption rate to a level such that the available resources can’t meet the demand which means exceeding the carrying capacity. To prevent such thing, China has applied several population control policies. In 1970, the government encouraged people to marry late, allow long time spacing between births, and have fewer children. In 1979, China started the “one child per family policy” which limited households to only one child. The government offered special benefits to households that agreed to have one child. Households who didn’t abide by the policy faced paying fines. The article claims that these policies resulted in a fertility rate decrease only on the short run while changes in preferences towards fertility resulted in a long-term decrease.
Case Study 2:
Topic: Population Control
Geographical Area: India
Link: http://acaneretuedutr.weebly.com/uploads/9/0/1/5/9015786/todaro_case_study_6.pdf
Source: Todaro, M. P., & Smith, S. C. (2009). Economic development. Boston: Pearson Addison Wesley.
This case study examines the relationship between population control and economic growth in India. India’s population is expected to surpass China’s population by 200 million in 2050. This raises concerns about the ability to sustain such growth. In 1949, India tackled this challenge by introducing family planning programs nationwide. However, that wasn’t effective enough which led to government-enforced sterilization in some cases. Despite this, Kerala, a state in India, has focused on poverty reduction and human development which in turn led to reduced fertility rates even less than that of China. The case study suggests that India’s increased economic growth might be correlated with lower fertility rates. At the same time, it claims that in Kerala’s case it was more because of changes in norms of behavior and values that emphasize women’s empowerment.
Comparison to Libya:
Compared to China and India, Libya has a population size of roughly 0.006% of the population size of India and China. In terms of population density, Libya has 4 people per sq. km, India has 436 people per sq. km, and China has 145 people per sq. km [1]. Libya’s population growth rate is one of the highest in North Africa, with the majority of the population being younger than 30 years old [2]. So, I think at some point in the future Libya might face similar population control challenges. It is critical to handle such a challenge early on, because Libya’s agriculture is restricted by the environment where only 1% of the land is utilized [2]. So it might be difficult to sustain high levels of population in terms of food availability. From China’s and India’s experience, we can learn that population control can be achieved most efficiently through education, poverty reduction, and women empowerment. This would help change social norms and values to ensure a brighter future.
Hi my name is Lisa! In my entry, I talked about building dams in Ethiopia. In one of my articles it talked about how they used a lottery system based off the American one to raise money to build the dam. In return, people won useful items like refrigerators, TV’s, laptops, etc. I thought it was super interesting and I would love for you to check it out! Here’s a link to my entry: http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/02/26/american-cultures-affecting-foreign-means-for-raising-money/
I have heard that China only allows for families to have one child. I did not know it was because of over population and a lack of resources. I have no idea what I thought the reason was before, but it was great to learn this from your entry. If I was a citizen of China, I would find it frustrating that they fine you for having more than one child. I also find it really interesting that India’s economy has increased in growth because of lower fertility rates. I had no idea that the size of the family and population makes such a difference in the economy. Overall, I learned a lot from reading you entry and I think you did a great job!
Hi! My name is Alexis and here is a link to my blog: https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bzi.In my blog, I spoke about environmental justice in regards to the Detroit Intermodal Freight Terminal project for the first case study. I then analyzed the unsustainable development of pollution within Mexico City for the second one.
I found your blog post on the idea of the empowerment of women very unique. The fact that Kerala, had reduced rates of fertility even less than China is very interesting, especially because of the idea that lower fertility rates has a correlation to the economic growth within India. Even with these low fertility rates it is interesting how in general India will surpass China’s population in the future. Finally I found it entertaining to read how a change in a persons normal behavior and values could emphasize women empowerment.
Hi! My name is Julie and here is a link to my blog: https://wp.me/p3RCAy-bwf.
In my blog, I briefly spoke about how environmental justice is a major problem especially in the first case study that I talked about!
I was really interested in how you talked about Libya’s population growth and how it compared to China and India. The relationship between population control and sustainability that you talked is especially interesting to me. I find it very interesting to think about how the population could grow and change so greatly in what is really a short amount of time.