InfoCoBuild

MCDB 150 - Global Problems of Population Growth

Lecture 10 - Quantitative Aspects. Census data is often politically influenced and hence inaccurate. The birthrate in developing countries is nearly twice that in developed countries. Most humans live in less developed countries, so the world birth rate is near the higher number. The world birth rate is two and a half times the death rate; we are not close to population stabilization. Almost everywhere, the death rate has been drastically reduced; further changes will not massively affect demographic trends. Changes in fertility rate now control population. Demographic data must be corrected for age structure. A young population in a poor country will have a lower death rate than an older population in a richer country. Countries with high birthrates and exploding populations will have a high proportion of children. There are more people in each younger age bracket than in older ones. Many more adolescents will come into reproductive ages than older women will leave fertile ages. Fertility per woman is falling in the world, but, since there are ever more childbearers, the number of children born does not drop. Because of this 'momentum,' it can take over 100 years from when fertility falls to replacement level (approximately 2 children per woman) to when population stabilizes. In developing countries, even though fertility has been reduced, population growth often outstrips economic growth. People may give up on modernization and instead, idealize a return to some imagined past that was glorious. (from oyc.yale.edu)

Lecture 10 - Quantitative Aspects

Time Lecture Chapters
[00:00:00] 1. Fertility Control in Europe
[00:09:48] 2. Politics of Census Taking
[00:20:14] 3. World Birth and Death Rates
[00:27:51] 4. Demographic Age Distribution
[00:43:26] 5. Declining Fertility Rates and Population Momentum
[00:57:20] 6. Modernization's Window of Opportunity

References
Lecture 10 - Quantitative Aspects
Instructor: Robert Wyman. Resources: Notes - Lecture 10 [pdf]. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov].

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - Evolution of Sex and Reproductive Strategies
Lecture 02 - Sex and Violence Among the Apes
Lecture 03 - From Ape to Human
Lecture 04 - When Humans Were Scarce
Lecture 05 - Why Is Africa Different?
Lecture 06 - Malthusian Times
Lecture 07 - Demographic Transition in Europe; Mortality Decline
Lecture 08 - Demographic Transition in Europe; Fertility Decline
Lecture 09 - Demographic Transition in Europe
Lecture 10 - Quantitative Aspects
Lecture 11 - Low Fertility in Developed Countries
Lecture 12 - Human and Environmental Impacts
Lecture 13 - Fertility Attitudes and Practices
Lecture 14 - Demographic Transition in Developing Countries
Lecture 15 - Female Disadvantage
Lecture 16 - Population in Traditional China
Lecture 17 - Population in Modern China
Lecture 18 - Economic Impact of Population Growth
Lecture 19 - Economic Motivations for Fertility
Lecture 20 - Teen Sexuality and Teen Pregnancy
Lecture 21 - Global Demography of Abortion
Lecture 22 - Media and the Fertility Transition in Developing Countries
Lecture 23 - Biology and History of Abortion
Lecture 24 - Population and the Environment