BECKER AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION. (24th March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Ronald
• Is Part Of: Journal of demographic economics. Volume 81:Number 1(2015)
• Page Start: 67
• Page End: 74
• Publication Date: 2015-03-24
• Subjects: Becker, -- intergenerational transfer, -- demography, -- fertility, -- transition, -- value of time, -- quantity–quality, -- human capital; Demography -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; Population -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; 304.605
• DOI: 10.1017/dem.2014.9
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2054-0892

Abstract

Abstract : It was a different era when Gary Becker did his groundbreaking work on the economics of fertility, during the years from the late 1950 through the early 1990s. There was great concern then about the "population explosion" due to sustained high fertility in the developing world after mortality declined following World War II. In 1968, Paul Ehrlich published "The Population Bomb" predicting disaster and mass starvation due to rapid population growth: "The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s, the world will undergo famines – hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death. . . ." Robert McNamara, then the President of the World Bank, in 1984 said "Short of thermonuclear war itself, population growth is the gravest issue the world faces over the decades immediately ahead. If we do not act, the problem will be solved by famine, riots, insurrection and war."