macro topics 1: poverty, population and the environment

Question 1

IPAT equation

Answer 1

Environmental Impact = Population X Affluence X Technology

Question 2

Technology in the IPAT equation

Answer 2

the environmental impact per unit of consumption per person

Question 3

Agrarian Transition

Answer 3

The transition away from agriculture

Question 4

sustainable development and poverty

Answer 4

sustainability cannot be achieved unless poverty is directly addressed - poverty is unsustainable

Question 5

Connections Between Poverty and the Environment

Answer 5

1. many environmental problems are the cause of poverty
    Unsafe drinking water
    Inadequate sewage facilities
    Indoor and outdoor air pollution
   2.Poor people cannot afford to conserve
   resources
2. Richer people “demand” more pollution control - Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC)
3. Population Growth
    Population growth slows with increased
   income

Question 6

Explanations for the EKC

Answer 6

 Rising Education
 Political demand for pollution control
 Shift in industrial composition
 Relative risk considerations: is environmental quality a “luxury good”?

Question 7

Population in Perspective

Answer 7

 Population pressure can overwhelm the ability of poor country governments to provide educational, health and sanitary services
 Rising incomes in poor countries could lead to a natural demographic transition to low population growth

Question 8

Criticisms of the Malthusian model

Answer 8

 Technological progress
 Absence of relationship between per-capita income and population growth
 The ‘Demographic Transition’
○ Endogenous fertility declines

Question 9

Sustainable Development

Answer 9

The preservation of human-valued natural capital at a level sufficient to ensure the well-being of future generations

Question 10

Interactions between population growth, poverty and environmental degradation

Answer 10

 ‘Children as productive assets’
1. Production very labour intensive in low-income economies.
2. Children as a substitute for (absent) old-age pension and social security

Question 11

consensus on population growth

Answer 11

1. Population growth not the primary cause of underdevelopment;
2. The real problem is quality of life and scarcity of resources;
3. Rapid population growth does intensify problems of underdevelopment.

Question 12

Economic benefits of having children

Answer 12

 Old age and health insurance
 Income supplement

Question 13

Economic costs of having children

Answer 13

 Parents child-rearing efforts
 Monetary resources

Question 14

Family Size Strategies - High-investment strategy

Answer 14

 Focus all available resources on one or two children

Question 15

Family Size Strategies - Low-investment strategy

Answer 15

 Have many children to increase the chance of one of them contributing to family income

Question 16

Why does rising income encourage families to adopt the “quality strategy”?

Answer 16

 Lowered infant and childhood mortality
 Access to education
 Women enter the paid labor force
 Prohibitions of child labor

Question 17

Controlling Population Growth

Answer 17

1. Reduce Poverty
2. Better social safety net
3. Education
4. Family Planning

Question 18

A closer look at family planning policy - Birth Control: unmet need Vs parental demand? Evidence

Answer 18

 Cross country evidence – Pritchett (1994) (cited in Dasgupta paper) finds a strong and negative correlation between use of contraceptives and fertility.

 Cochrane and Farid (1989) find that in sub- Saharan Africa where contraceptives are available they are used to alter birth spacing, but not birth numbers.

 Evidence from the World Fertility Survey:
○ Evidence suggests 90% of cross-country variation in fertility rates explained by wanted total fertility

 Conclusion:
○ Mixed Evidence on effectiveness of family
planning programs.
○ Stronger role for addressing underlying ‘demand’ determinants.

Question 19

Coercive Policies

Answer 19

 China, 1980-2015: One-Child Policy
 Rise in sex selection–aborting female fetuses, and increase in female infanticide(?)l
 Ended in 2015. Though cultural norm now established and one-child pattern likely to continue.

Question 20

Current picture of population growth

Answer 20

 Population growth rates have been declining rapidly
 more spending in family planning is needed.

Question 21

Consumption-pollution link

Answer 21

Rich country consumption responsible for around 2/3 of global pollution and environmental degradation in poor countries

Question 22

Natural Capital and Development

Answer 22

 Demand for resources in rich countries has depleted the natural capital stock in poor countries,