Abstract:
This chapter surveys the long–term implications of population growth and its interaction with technological change, resources utilization and the environment. We ask: what are the key determinants of the processes of population growth and technical change and how do they interact with each other? Under what conditions can the people of the world enjoy rising living standards, and if they do, does population have to stabilize for this to be feasible? How do the answers to these questions depend on the relationship between human progress and the natural environment? Will growth be limited by lack of resources or negative environmental repercussions? Will the development of the world economy necessarily mean the despoiling of the environment?Notes:
In Handbook of Population and Family Economics, Volume 1B, 1177-1271, by O. Stark. North Holland, April 1, 1997.
