Question

Explain Malthusian theory. What do you see as its strengths? What are its limitations? Explain the demographic transition theory. How does this approach link population dynamics to economic development?

Note : please answer in a short paragraph.

Answer 1

According to the Malthusian theory, the population of a country grows exponentially like 2,4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 etc and the food supply grows arithmatically like 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc. As population growth progress geometrically and the supply of food grows arithmatically, the number of population outturns the food supply creating imbalance in the natural law. To controll the imbalance, Malthus suggested protective and preventive checks to controll the population growth. Preventive checks include late marriage, moral restraint, celebacy etc while protective checks include femine, war, disease, misery, natural calamities etc which were imperartive if the preventive check fails to attain its goal and brings the sie of the population under controll.

The strength of this theory is that the increasing number of population would surely destroy the balance of ecology with immense pressure on the food supply system, land and other resources which inevitably lead the population of the world to encounter nature's fury in the form of natural calamities and disaster, hunger, famine, scarcity of land and water, war for food and other natural resources.

The plot of Malthu's theory was mainly based on England during the pre industrial era which totally ignored the possibility of science and technology with time which could be helpfull in fulfilling the demand of overpopulation with time. Besides his idea for the progression of society was completely based on the availability of food to a particular period of time. He totally ignored the influence of other resources leaving the theory in controversy not only in developed nations but also in developing nations.

Demographic Transition Theory was put forwarded by Warren Thompson in 1929 which describes the transition of economic development from high birth rate and death rate to lower birth and death rate moving the country's economic system from agricultural phase to industrial phase. According to this theory, the fertility and mortality rate goes down with the development of societies and implementation of technology in every sphere which ensures higher GDP and better living opportunities for its population. When the population of a country moves from a higher birth rate, high child mortality rate and higher death rate due to epidemic, malnutrition to lower birth rate, low child mortality rate and death rate, the economy automatically attain a transitional phase from lower economic development to higher economic development. The dempgraphic transition theory best describes the relation between population dynamic and economic development. This theory tries to explain that economic prosperity and development are only possible when the population of the country reaches to a stage where the country's GDP increases with the lower child mortality rate followed by lower fertility rate.