- Economists do not regard poverty, population growth and local environment as interconnected
- In contrast with the new perspective, with its focus on local experience, popular tracts on the environment and population growth usually taken a global view
- They emphasized the deleterious effects that a large population would have on our planet
- This draws attention away from economic misery endemic today
- Households assume various guises in different parts of the world
- Each successful birth involves a year and a half of pregnancy and breast-feeding
- Lack of paid employment and education limits a woman's ability to make decisions and promotes population growth
- One motive relates to children as ends in themselves. It ranges from the desire to have children because they are playful and enjoyable, to the desire to obey the dictates of tradition and religion
Summary
The Author talks about how people blame population growth as a cause of poverty and environmental degradation. In developing countries, decisions on whether to have a child and on how to share education, food, work, health care and local resources are in large measure made within small entities such as households. The number of live babies a woman could have is she survived her childbearing years is called the total fertility rate, which is between 6 and 8 in Sub-Saharan Africa. When both parents participate in the decision to have a child, there are several pathways through which the choice becomes harmful to the community. Families with greater access to resources are in a position to limit their size and propel themselves into still higher income levels. One motive relates to children as ends in themselves. It ranges from the desire to have children because they are playful and enjoyable, to the desire to obey the dictates of tradition and religion. Rural assets such as village ponds and water holes have been owned communally. If access to shared resources continues, parents produce too many children, leading to crowding and susceptibility to disease and more pressure on the environmental resources. Importance of gender inequality to overpopulation in poor nations is fortunately gaining international recognition. Families with greater access to resources are in a position to limit their size and propel themselves into still higher income levels.
Reflection
After reading this article I learned about how much women bear with the cost of bearing children in certain places. When both parents participate in the decision to have a child, there are several pathways through which the choice becomes harmful to the community. Families with greater access to resources are in a position to limit their size and propel themselves into still higher income levels. In developing countries, decisions on whether to have a child and on how to share education, food, work, health care and local resources are in large measure made within small entities such as households. It ranges from the desire to have children because they are playful and enjoyable, to the desire to obey the dictates of tradition and religion. Rural assets such as village ponds and water holes have been owned communally. If access to shared resources continues, parents produce too many children, leading to crowding and susceptibility to disease and more pressure on the environmental resources. Importance of gender inequality to overpopulation in poor nations is fortunately gaining international recognition. Parental demand for children rather than an unmet need for contraceptives in large measure explains reproductive behavior in developing countries.