Population, Poverty, and the Local Environment
by Partha S. Dasgupta Feb. 1995
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Source: Scientific American
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Notes:
Summary: When families live in countries that don't have modern conveniences, it makes it difficult for them to live a normal life or to do the simplest things. Especially for the children. For example, many parents want more children for many reasons like traditions or have extra set of hands to help around the house. Unfortunately, education can cost a lot of money in these countries and the parents can't afford to send there kids to school. But it's better for certain families who have girls because it's easier for the families to marry off the girl(s) if they aren't educated. As a matter of fact, having more children can affect the community. For example, it can cause overcrowding, pressure on the environment and limited resources, and the fact of being likely harmed by diseases. The total fertility rate is the number of babies a woman would have if she survived through her childbearing years. It can decrease "when a larger share of the paid employment belongs to women." In conclusion, lack of education and of paid employment are two reasons why the population grows rapidly.
Reflection: While reading this article I already knew the reason why girls who are educated are harder to find husbands because they are more aware of what the husband's expectations are. Probably these girls don't want to find a husband, get married, get pregnant, have a kid, etc and stop going to school because they have to do the chores that wifes do at home. Thses girls actually want a future for them and the good of their family, because they'll have more opportunities later in life. Not to add the fact that education is expensive in some countries. Some of us don't take advantage of what we have now and days. Like we don't worry that are grades are bad or we see school as prison or even hell and see a pair of expensive shoes or clothes more important than our school life. While other kids see education as everything, probably see it as something worth more than an Iphone 6 or a mac laptop.
- Some would point to population growth as the cause of poverty and environmental degradation.
- Focusing on the vast numbers of small, rural communities in the poorest regions of the world, the work has identified circumstances in which population growth, poverty and degradation of local resources often fuel one another.
- Economists have typically not regarded poverty, population growth and the local environment as interconnected
- A study has shown that the sharing of resources within a household is often unequal even when di›erences in needs are taken into account.
- In poor households in the Indian subcontinent, for example, men and boys usually get more sustenance than do women and girls, and the elderly get less than the young.
- If children are needed to work inside and outside the home, then keeping them in school (even a cheap one) is costly.
- The less educated girls are the more the families are better off.
- Total fertility rate= number of babies a woman would have if she survived through her childbearing years. In sub-Saharan Africa is between 6 to 8.
- Fertility decreases when a larger share of the paid employment belongs to women.
- Possibility that lack of paid employment and education limits a woman’s ability to make decisions and therefore promotes population growth
- When you have to many children it can have a lot of consequences like overcrowding, susceptibility to disease, and pressure on the environment and limited sources.
- As the community's resources are depleted, more kids are born to gather water and fuel, thus damaging the environment.
Summary: When families live in countries that don't have modern conveniences, it makes it difficult for them to live a normal life or to do the simplest things. Especially for the children. For example, many parents want more children for many reasons like traditions or have extra set of hands to help around the house. Unfortunately, education can cost a lot of money in these countries and the parents can't afford to send there kids to school. But it's better for certain families who have girls because it's easier for the families to marry off the girl(s) if they aren't educated. As a matter of fact, having more children can affect the community. For example, it can cause overcrowding, pressure on the environment and limited resources, and the fact of being likely harmed by diseases. The total fertility rate is the number of babies a woman would have if she survived through her childbearing years. It can decrease "when a larger share of the paid employment belongs to women." In conclusion, lack of education and of paid employment are two reasons why the population grows rapidly.
Reflection: While reading this article I already knew the reason why girls who are educated are harder to find husbands because they are more aware of what the husband's expectations are. Probably these girls don't want to find a husband, get married, get pregnant, have a kid, etc and stop going to school because they have to do the chores that wifes do at home. Thses girls actually want a future for them and the good of their family, because they'll have more opportunities later in life. Not to add the fact that education is expensive in some countries. Some of us don't take advantage of what we have now and days. Like we don't worry that are grades are bad or we see school as prison or even hell and see a pair of expensive shoes or clothes more important than our school life. While other kids see education as everything, probably see it as something worth more than an Iphone 6 or a mac laptop.