title: Population and development within the ecosphere:  one view of the literature.
abstract: "Contemporary academic economists, unlike those of the nineteenth century, find that although population growth and density can have bad effects on development, these will only be severe with wrong economic policies.  Technical advance and substitution in free markets avoid major difficulties, for example shortage of materials.  But ecologists see the poor cutting trees for firewood, the rich pouring carbon in to the atmosphere, and doubt the capacity of the environment to absorb the effects of dense and growing populations and their present technologies. On both sides are distinguished scholars, whose writings cannot here be covered exhaustively, but only enough said for background to the question posed to demographers:  Should this central population issue not be on our research agendas?"
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Keyfitz
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003710:Demography; D004467:Economics; D004777:Environment; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D005843:Geography; D011153:Population; D011156:Population Density; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011158:Population Growth
keywords: Carrying Capacity; Demographic Factors; Economic Development; Economic Factors; Environment; Environmental Degradation; Environmental Pollution; Geographic Factors; Literature Review; Natural Resources; Population; Population Density; Population Dynamics; Population Growth; Spatial Distribution; World