Friday, April 23, 1999
Announcements:

• Reaction paper to the film is due either Monday or Wednesday of next week. The first part should be a summary of both segments of the film and for the second part choose either India or China to react to and recommend strategies for controlling the population

1. Population

1. The World’s Most Populous Countries

1. China (see April 21^st notes)
2. India – Democratic – cannot impose the 1-child policy

1. Family Planning – India has aggressive family planning policies but they cannot force them upon the citizens. The government is not as committed to family planning as China is. The large population consumes any economic advancement the country has. 35% of the population is made up of young people. There are no incentives or penalties when it comes to family planning
2. Cultural Factors

1. Large part of India is based on an agricultural economy – children are seen as labor, social security, and health care
2. Preference for a son – Only with a son can the parents go to heaven
3. 80% of the population are Hindus – Hinduism is a pro-sex religion
4. India is a patriarchal society and a patrilineal society (prefer sons)

1. India – 50% illiterate; China – nearly 100% literate

1. Population Pyramid

1. Classical Egyptian Pyramid is a sign of rapid population growth (Mexico)
2. Beer Barrel Population Pyramid (USA)

1. Indicates the Baby Boomers stand out
2. Boomers are the Power Generation
3. They need the younger generations to support them (social security, Medicare)

1. Baby Bust Cohort (1970-79) – population shrunk
2. Baby Boom Echo Cohort (1985-95)
3. Easterlin Hypothesis – Why does the population rise and fall? Smaller generations typically produce larger ones. Economic reason: small cohorts have less competition for jobs so they marry early and have a large family. A large generation must deal with the opposite as jobs are hard to come by and thus children become too expensive