Download Economic and Social Impacts of Population Growth

Economic and Social Impacts of
Population Growth
The Numbers Game
H=R÷P
Human condition
equals
Resources
divided by
Population
Rates Versus Numbers
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Even if there is a smaller percentage of
people living in poverty, the overall number of
people can be larger than ever.
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For example: 10% of 100 people (10 people) are
living in poverty in 1990. In 2000, 8% of 200
people (16 people) are living in poverty. The
percentage of those living in poverty has gone
down, but the actual number of people has gone
up.
The statistics can be misleading, so it is important
to understand what the numbers mean
The Challenge of the Urban Future
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“…will be to sustain progress in social development
in the face of unprecedented pressure.”
Poverty is increasing dramatically in urban
environments, cities, and the challenge is to meet
the needs of these people
Creating employment opportunities for them is only
one side of the issue, governments must invest in
health care, family planning, controlling the spread of
infectious disease, education, and women’s rights.
The Rise of the Mega-City
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Since 1950 the number of people living in
cities has more than quadrupled – from
around 700 million to roughly three billion –
mostly in the developing world.
Rapid urbanization leads to many social an
economic problems, including: Pollution,
crime, unemployment, disease transmission,
poverty, and homelessness
Cont.
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Population growth strains political
institutions, and the services offered cannot
keep up with the demand.
Cities may be unable to provide housing,
clean water, or sanitation. In 1990 the U.N.
estimated that 600 million people in the
developing world lived in “life and healththreatening homes and neighborhoods.”
Population and Crime
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Cities often have a young population, with many
economic migrants being between 15 and 25 years
old. This places a strain on the education system
and job markets, which leads to more stress and
tension.
For example, in India the population has doubled
between 1955 and 1985, while the incidence of
community violence has increased sevenfold (the
number of deaths from this type of violence has
increased tenfold).
Poverty is the leading motivator in criminal activies.
Population and Health
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A rapid population increase puts a strain on the
health care system. There is just not enough
hospitals, doctors, nurses, etc. to cover everyone.
In the growing cities the population density, water
shortages, and unsanitary environmental conditions
make it much easier for disease to be transmitted.
According to a 1998 study the social health of
Americans has declined by over 40 percent in the 27
years of the study, while the population rose by over
30 percent.
Population and Disease
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Over the past 25 years many new diseases have
emerged, and many we taught we had virtually
wiped out are re-emerging.
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For example: the Ebola virus, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C
have emerged, while the once-declining cases of
Tuberculosis and malaria have began a rapid increase.
Causes of disease transmission include
overcrowding in cities, poor sanitation, increased
international food trade with unhealthy food
preparation, and a deteriorating public health system
Cont.
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New diseases are emerging due to a variety of
factors:
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Increasing population density forces people into previously
uninhabited land, such as forest, rainforest, etc. where they
are exposed to new disease vectors (plants and animals)
Alteration of the environment through logging, road-building,
mining, etc. also exposes people to new disease vectors
Global warming and climate change allow diseasetransmitting animals to move to new parts of the world,
infecting different populations (such as malaria transmitted
by mosquitoes)
Population and Jobs
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The past half-century has seen a great increase in
productivity and economic growth, largely due to the
increased mechanization and improved technology
being developed. But, this means fewer jobs
available, even as our population is growing.
Jobs aren’t being created quickly enough to keep up
with the influx of new workers on the job market.
Those that are getting work are often given a lower
wage than was previously offered.
H=R÷P
Economic security = Jobs ÷ Population
Population and Poverty
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Poverty is linked to social breakdown, domestic
violence, unintended pregnancy, illegal drug use,
environmental destruction and violent crime.
Whether population growth leads to poverty or
poverty to population growth is a matter of debate.
Although the “rate” (percentage) of poverty Is
decreasing the “numbers” (number of people living in
poverty) are increasing.
It is often accompanied by unemployment,
malnutrition, illiteracy, low status of women,
exposure to environmental risks and limited access
to social and health services.
Population and Environmental Degradation
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As a consequence of poverty, many people use the
land in ways that harm the environment, as they
don’t have the education or the resources for an
alternative
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Overgrazing
Deforestation
Agricultural mismanagement
Overcutting of fuelwood
About 70 percent of the damage the to world’s soil is
a result of these practices
Globalization: A Complex Issue
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Economic globalization has increased dramatically as
multinational corporations are manufacturing items in
developing nations where it is cheaper, to sell to developed
countries, to the rich.
However, this brings many problems involving environmental
protection, safety standards and human rights. Many
developing countries have little choice but to accept and even
welcome multinational corporations because they need the
import of jobs, but those companies exploit their land and do
little for their workers.
The main priorities of globalization must be improving health,
protecting the environment, promoting human rights, and
supporting economic justice. To address the human needs of
these nations, developed countries must consume less and
developing countries consume more of key items such as food,
health care, education and technologies.
The Disasters in Haiti
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Haiti was colonized by Europe mainly because of the huge
forests that covered the island. After the Haitians gained
independence the land was divided into smaller and smaller
pieces for each generation, until they were too small to
generate enough food for a family.
Many people were forced to migrate to unclaimed forests on the
steep hills, and clear-cut the forest to create farmland, or
burned the wood to make charcoal to sell. This caused a
massive deforestation and erosion problems.
Haiti has about 2 percent of its original forest left, and at least
half of the farmland’s soil is so eroded the United Nations
considers it “unreclaimable.”
Cont.
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As the population grew in the 1970s and 80s,
agricultural production decreased and more people
migrated to cities. The tension between classes
rose, with the landowners refusing to invest in
improving the workers’ lives and the workers seeing
no reason to improve the land of the wealthy.
This could have been prevented by the government
investing in health care, education, reforestation,
economic diversity, but instead the leaders just
exploited their country, grabbing whatever personal
wealth they could.