Population Dynamics
Expanding population
Benefits
population age shifts to younger
healthier population
lower healthcare and insurance costs
more people contributing to society
growth/innovation
technological advances
medical and scientific discoveries
greater efficency
more consumers
economic growth
Drawbacks
Destroying the environment (Friis, 2018)
depletion of resources
desertification
dwindling supplies of fire wood
deforestation
pollution of air, water, etc
Urbanization (Friis, 2018)
population density increase
increase spread of infectious/communicable disease
stress on food supply
increased prevalence of malnutrition and starvation
soil erosion
increased sedimentation in water sources
flood risk
Crime rate goes up because people will resort to illegal methods of getting the food they need
poor sanitation
increased air pollution
increased carbon emissions (Casey & Galor, 2017)
unequal opportunities between men and women
more people fall undle the poverty line
greater taxation to support the needs of the growing population
Women are having more children
increase fetal and maternal mortality
Contracting population
Benefits
more equal opportunities between men and women (Wilmouth et al., 2022)
more women are employed
women are marrying later
women are having few children
children benefit (Zeng & Hesketh, 2016)
ease stresses on natural resources
adequate food, water, shelter, etc
less pollution
healthier popultion
decreased population density
reduced spread of communicable diseases
Drawbacks
population aging
fewer people to contribute to society
stunted economic growth
higher healthcare and insurance costs
Less people finding someone suitable to marry
not as many marriages that produce children
more people are aging alone
high rates of mental illness/loneliness
Less people have family members to take care of them when they age
more instances of aggression towards women (Zeng & Hesketh, 2016)
From a global perspective contracting populations are easier to manage because natural, political, economic, and other resources are not under increasing strain as in the case of rapidly growing populations (Friis, 2018). In this scenario, it is important to determine the cause of the rising death rates and/or falling fertility rates. Determining this would allow for multifaceted intervention approaches to be curated and applied.
Determine why death rates are rising
disease or illness that is killing the population
economic decline
decreased job opportunities
people not having enough money to support children
low fertility
not as many babies are being born so the population is aging
pollution or other contaminants causing decreased functioning of the reproductive system
policies in place limiting fertiltiy (Zeng & Hesketh, 2016)