population part vi population control policies from around the world
TRANSCRIPT
HOW DO GOVERNMENTS AFFECT POPULATION CHANGE?
• Many governments institute policies designed to influence the overall growth rate or ethnic ratios within the population.
These policies fall into three groups:
1. Expansive
2. Eugenic
3. Restrictive
EXPANSIVE POPULATION POLICIES• Encourage families to have more children
• Communist Societies
• Soviet Union
• China – Mao Zedong
Current Examples
• European Examples-
• Sweden-Cash payments, tax incentives, job leave, work hour flexibility lasting up to 8 years after birth
• Russia-National Day of Conception (Sept. 12)
• Romania-anyone, married or single, who was childless after the age of 25 was subject to a tax of 10-20% of income. For people who did have children, there were family allowances paid by the government and cash awards to women having their third child . 1980s: all women of childbearing age — even pubescent girls — were subject to monthly pelvic exams to detect pregnancies and ensure all of them were carried to term.
• Asian Examples-
• South Korea-Family Day-third Thursday of every month
• Singapore-National Night to get “Patriotic”
EUGENIC POPULATION POLICIES
• Favoring one racial or cultural sector of the population over the others• Tax discrimination, allocation of resources, favoritism
• Examples• Nazi Germany• Japan• USA-human race could be improved by breeding people with desirable traits,
immigration policies on “undesirables” (Asian and Southern European); sterilizing undesirable Americans (mental defectives)-1970s; new view of eugenics-planned parenthood
RESTRICTIVE POPULATION POLICIES• Reducing the rate of natural increase through a range of means
Examples
1) China’s “One-child” policy:
For those who follow-Income bonuses, Better health care benefits, Better retirement pensions, Priority in housing
For those who don’t-get abortions for unauthorized pregnancies, forced sterilization
2) India-some areas of high CBR/fertility are paying couples 5000 rupees ($106)
3) Uzbekistan-forced sterilizations after 2nd child, doctors were forced to do it and did so without woman’s knowledge
4) Pakistan-child spacing (3 years, Koran calls for 24 months of breast feeding
5) U.S.-Title X-US health centers fund contraceptives
SOLUTIONS TO POPULATION GROWTH
• Empowerment of Women
• $ for contraception & education
• Changing cultural norms to value girls
• Diffusion of Birth Control Policies
• Educating men
w/ responsibility
for birth control
• Sterilization
SOLUTIONS TO POPULATION GROWTH• Redistribution of wealth - improve standard of living for poor so
that children aren’t as necessary
• Improving farming techniques in poor areas to deal with starvation,
malnourishment
SOLUTIONS TO POPULATION GROWTH
• Medical technology – costs of maintaining
vulnerable populations (old & young)
• Addressing government policies to deal with their growing populations
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT…• Is population control funded by MDCs
ethical in LDCs?• Population control v. culture• Birth control? • Sterilization?• Abortion?• Sex determination?• Incentives: Money, food, clothing?
• Is population control funded by MDCs needed to keep mass amounts of people in the LDCs out of poverty?