Population Dynamics and Long-Run Economic Growth

This paper applies insights from theoretical and empirical research in economic growth to analyze the impacts of policies affecting fertility, migration and human capital accumulation on growth and poverty alleviation. It underlines the tradeoff between having more children and investing more resources in the human capital of each child as a critical force in devising policies that will alleviate hardship and generate long-term prosperity. In developing countries, policies increasing the return to education would trigger a virtuous cycle of fertility control, investment in education, poverty alleviation, and economic growth. Moreover, permitting migration of high skilled individuals to developed countries would mitigate the issues associated with aging populations in those societies, while encouraging human capital formation in developing countries.