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Population Growth and Economic Development

In: National Income and Economic Progress

Author

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  • A. P. Thirlwall

Abstract

The relation between population growth and economic development is not an easy topic to write about. The connections are complex, and the historical quantitative evidence is ambiguous, particularly concerning what is cause and what is effect. Does economic development precede population growth, or is population growth a necessary condition for economic development to take place? The complexity of the subject is compounded by the fact that economic development is a multi-dimensional concept meaning different things to different people. For the purposes of this chapter, I shall define economic development as a sustained increase in the level of per capita income, although bearing in mind Goulet’s (1971) three-core components of a wider meaning of development, namely, life-sustenance, self-esteem and freedom. The level of per capita income may be a reasonable proxy for life sustenance, but a poor indicator of the distribution of income and of educational and job opportunities which give people self-respect, independence and freedom to choose.

Suggested Citation

  • A. P. Thirlwall, 1988. "Population Growth and Economic Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Duncan Ironmonger & J. O. N. Perkins & Tran Hoa (ed.), National Income and Economic Progress, chapter 10, pages 177-198, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-19340-0_11
    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-19340-0_11
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