ECON 448: Week 10-

1. Population Growth and Economic Development

(1) Evaluate the validity of the following statements.

(a) A developing country is likely to have an overall death rate that is lower than that of a developed country.

(b) The populations of Europe and North America grew at a combined rate between 1750 and 1990 that significantly exceeded the population growth rates of developing countries at that time.

(c) If country A has a population growth rate that is lower than country B, then the average woman in country A has less children than her counterpart in country B.

(d) Birth rates may be high even when death rates may be falling.

(e) If total mortality among children remained constant, but the incidence of that mortality shifted from late childhood to early childhood, fertility rates should decline.

(2) Discuss the impact of population growth on per capita income and its growth.

Table - Geographical distribution of the world population.

Source: Carr-Saunders [1936, Fig 8] and Demographic Yearbook (United Nations [1995]).

2. Poverty Measures

(1) Evaluate the following statements by providing a brief explanation or analysis.

(a) The income gap ratio and the head count, as measures of poverty, may lead to very different uses of antipoverty resources by policy makers.

(b) World poverty shows a steadily diminishing trend over the last forty years (1970-2010).

(c) The poverty gap ratio and the income gap ratio focus attention on different aspects of the poverty problem.

(d) Both the poverty gap ratio and income gap ratio are insensitive to the inequality among the poor.