Introduction

The economic issues affecting population are, as chapter 12 has shown, unclear in many respects. There is probably as much room for difference of opinion on these issues as there is on other economic questions of present day significance. In addition, many further types of consideration are important in relation to population – social and moral questions, for instance, and matters affecting health. Before the prospects for the future can be viewed, in chapter 14 which follows, it is clearly necessary to pay some attention to the ways in which people are currently regarding such issues and questions, for it is in these ways that they will be conscious of demographic problems and their actions in regard to marriage, fertility and migration may well spring out of their consciousness.

Attitudes of governments

In an attempt to get some information on various aspects of population policy, the UN Organization conducted an inquiry among member nations in 1963 in order to ascertain the views of governments as to whether there was a relationship between economic development and population change. The inquiry document was rather vaguely worded, and left much latitude for the replies. Perhaps for this reason, there was a good response. Answers were received from over fifty countries, with a wide geographical distribution and very varied states of economic development. From the replies it is possible to make a broad classification of countries according to whether they regard population growth as:

1. (1) a brake on the economy;

2. (2) a spur to progress;

3. (3) a factor having little effect, on balance, on general development.