The study of human resource is vital from the point of view of economic welfare.
Demographic
Issues And Human Development
Study Of Human Resource
The study of human resource is
vital from the point of view of economic welfare. It is particularly important
because human beings are not only instruments of production but also ends in
themselves. It is necessary to know in quantitative terms the number of people
living in a country at a particular time, the rate at which they are growing
and the composition and distribution of population.
The Theory Of Demographic
Transition
The theory of “demographic
transition” postulates a three-stage sequence of birth and death rate as
typically associated with economic development.
First Stage Of Demographic Transition:
According to this theory death
rates are high in the first stage of an agrarian economy on account of poor
diets, primitive sanitation and absence of effective medical aid.
Second Stage Of Demographic Transition:
Rise in income levels enables the
people to improve their diet. Economic development also brings about all round
improvement including the improvement in transport, which makes the supply of
food regular. These entire factors tend to reduce death rate. Thus in the
second stage, birth rate remains high but death rate begins to decline rapidly.
This accelerates the growth of population. High birth rate and falling death
rate contribute to the growth of the average size of the family in the second
stage.
Third Stage Of Demographic Transition:
With the growth of
industrialization, population tends to shift away from rural areas towards
industrial and commercial centers. One of the features of economic development
is typically increasing urbanization, and children are usually more of a burden
and less of an asset in an urban setting than in a rural. The consciousness to
maintain reasonable standard of living tends to reduce the size of family in an
industrialized economy; since the death rate is already low, this is possible
only if birth rate falls. Thus, the characteristics of the third stage are low
birth rate, low death rate, small family size and low growth rate of
population.
These three stages reveal the
transformation of a primitive high birth and high death rate economy into a low
birth and low death rate economy. When an economy shifts from the first stage
to the second stage of demographic transition, an imbalance is created in the
economy as a result of falling death rate but relatively stable birth rate. The
second stage of demographic evolution has, therefore, been termed as the stage
of population explosion. This stage is the most hazardous period for a
developing economy. The decline in death rate in the second stage therefore
creates an imbalance, which requires a period of transition for adjustment.
Thus, the theory is termed as the theory of demographic transition. During the
period of transition the demographic factors get out of harmony. A new
constellation of demographic forces is brought about which changes the
character of society; birth and death rate becomes balanced at a lower level as
a result of which growth rate of population also declines.
Tags : Business Environment and Law-Infrastructure Of The Economy
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