Demographic Dividend

Pakistan is considered to be the fifth largest young country in the world. Around 63 percent population of the country comprises youth aged between 15 and 33 (UN Population Fund Report 2017). Such a large young population has posed daunting challenges to the social, economic and political sectors of the state. The fast rising youth bulge of Pakistan seems to be a constantly ticking time bomb instead of a demographic dividend, threatening its very own existence. Poor youth engagement in the productive political, educational, economic and socio-cultural activities indicates ineffectiveness of the public and private sectors policies especially at the state level. The current research study is intended to identify the key factors behind the disengaged and distressed youth of Pakistan in the three core areas of education, economy and politics. For this purpose, a systematic literature review was carried out in which national and international labor survey reports, youth development index, national youth program and federal education and economic policies were critically analyzed alongside the relevant research studies, non-government organizations' reports and media coverage for a dynamic overview. Besides, interviews of relevant stakeholders were also conducted to investigate the issue from diverse perspectives. Evidently, youth partnership, empowerment, and engagement in educational, economic and political sectors can be the only way forward to address the increasing challenges of the country.

La seguridad social es un elemento principal de los dividendos demográficos. Las pensiones deben ser el mecanismo de ahorro e inversión durante el primer dividendo para crear y mantener el segundo dividendo. Sin embargo, en México hay crisis financiera debido a la falta de cobertura, beneficios insuficientes, privilegios sindicales y desequilibro actuarial. El Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social cambió a capitalización individual su sistema de pensiones, modalidad que no se convierte en ahorro productivo, compromete la capacidad de protección y disminuye las oportunidades de inversión social, económica y de salud. Aquí se analizan los esquemas de transición demográfica, de la seguridad social y del ahorro y gasto en los sistemas de retiro de 1944 a 2005, que deberían ser parte del primer dividendo. Se proyectan las condiciones hasta 2024 para completar el diagnóstico de un primer dividendo con riesgo de falla. Finalmente, se cuestionan las posibilidades del segundo dividendo y se proponen alternativas.

The populace of Bangladesh has always been a hot topic of every social and demographic research in relation with this nation. The digits of this particular factor had an impact on each factors of socio-economic life of Bangladeshis, in development and in drawback. Now the ongoing demographic transition which resulted in a ‘dividend’ may either be a tremendous scope of prosperity or a black hole of nuisance. The academic approaches over this upcoming is focused in this analysis.

Keywords: Demographic Dividend, Population, Bangladesh, Opportunities, Challenges.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between youth empowerment and sustainable development (SD) with regards to the Prime Minister’s Youth Program (PMYP). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from randomly selected respondents (n=275) studying in Higher Education Institutions through online and self-administered structured questionnaire and from multiple secondary data sources. Findings The research findings infer that youth empowerment is significantly affected by the PMYP and there is a significant positive relationship between youth empowerment and SD. Overall, respondents appear to be satisfied with the program offerings and consider it a genuine effort toward youth empowerment for SD, but such notion also necessitates an integrated youth development paradigm in Pakistan. Research limitations/implications The cornerstone of nation’s development is an established realization worldwide that the involvement of youth in development processe...

For sustained development, a country has to particularly focus on youth since they have a significant contribution to make in both present and future achievements. Many countries have realized this fact have been 'investing' on youth in various ways either through direct public action or through the involvement of others such as non-government organizations. Many of these 'investments' may be considered to be essential rights of the young, and are important by themselves. There are many possible effects of these investments. While some of them can be measured in monetary terms, some others cannot. But whatever might be the case; the assessment of benefits or returns of investments in youth is very important.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between youth empowerment and sustainable development (SD) with regards to the Prime Minister’s Youth Program (PMYP).

Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from randomly selected respondents (n=275) studying in Higher Education Institutions through online and self-administered structured questionnaire and from multiple secondary data sources.

Findings
The research findings infer that youth empowerment is significantly affected by the PMYP and there is a significant positive relationship between youth empowerment and SD. Overall, respondents appear to be satisfied with the program offerings and consider it a genuine effort toward youth empowerment for SD, but such notion also necessitates an integrated youth development paradigm in Pakistan.

Research limitations/implications
The cornerstone of nation’s development is an established realization worldwide that the involvement of youth in development processes is essential to save the country from “youth bulge” while converting this contour into a “demographic dividend.” It was, therefore, pertinent to explore how development actors can engage youth in order to transform priority areas into development programming and policies.

Originality/value
This study deals with quite an unexplored phenomenon of youth empowerment; hence, it serves as one of the first studies to provide evidence of the relationship between youth empowerment and SD in Pakistan’s perspective. Further, it also provides a basis for carrying out advance research on youth empowerment which may assist the government, NGOs and other donor agencies to understand youth issues and blueprint apposite strategies accordingly.

Srinivas goli is Assistant Professor of Population Studies at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University. His research deals with formal demography, family demography, inequalities in health, nutrition and gender status and its social determinants. He has been working on modeling fertility, mortality and health transition and convergence across Indian states and social groups. Currently, he is involved in collaborative projects on women and child nutrition, as well as social group inequalities in education, economics, and health outcomes.

While most analyses of economic impacts of population growth have been equivocal, this article describes a new perspective from which the effects are strongly negative. The economies and diseconomies of population size are largely circumstantial and empirically inconsistent, but those of growth rate are intrinsic and consistent. These impacts are not apparent on income and per capita GDP, but on costs. The article estimates these costs using the logic of calculus rather than marginal accounting. Specifically, the cost of maintaining per capita capacity of durable assets, including infrastructure, equipment and skilled personnel, is increased by population growth by a factor proportional to the working lifespan of the asset class.

One of the goals of Education for All (EFA) was to ensure that by 2015 children, specifically girls, vulnerable children and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to compulsory and free quality primary education and follow it to completion. However, at the end of 2015, Ivory Coast had not been able to achieve the objectives set, particularly the universal schooling of children and adolescents. The country faces many constraints related to its education system, notably school exclusion. The problem of access and maintenance of children in the system, whether they relate to the demand for or supply of education, remain important. The 2002 political crisis has exacerbated the obstacles to children's schooling because of the massive displacement of populations and the lack of infrastructures. What are the main factors behind school exclusion? how many children and adolescents are out of school? what are the economic implications? To answer these questions, we rely on data from the national survey of out of school children and adolescents conducted in 2015. The study reveals that 1,550,586 children aged 3-5; 1,123,674 children aged 6-11, 797 137 of 12-15 years are out of the school system. In order to achieve economic emergence, the country must imperatively address the problem of access to education with the utmost speed. Résumé L'un des objectifs de l'Education Pour Tous (EPT) était de faire en sorte qu'en 2015 tous les enfants, notamment les filles, les enfants en difficulté et ceux appartenant à des minorités ethniques, aient la possibilité d'accéder à

This study analyzes the effects of reparameterization of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) to vector error correction model (VECM) through cointegration of time series. It further verifies the effects of macroeconomic shocks on youth unemployment in Kenya using VECM. First, the unit root test has been done on youth unemployment (YUN), gross domestic product (GDP), external debt (ED), foreign direct investment (FDI), private investment (PI), youth literacy level (LR), and youth population (POP) to verify stationarity. The Johansen Cointegration Test has been employed and revealed three long run relationships which can be interpreted as a GDP effect, External Debt effect and Foreign Direct Investment effect relations. A structural VECM has been described through restrictions derived from the Cointegration Analysis. Based on the results of the Impulse-Response Function analysis and variance decomposition analysis of the Structural VECM, it is concluded that GDP, literacy level, population, Private Investment, External and FDI shocks have significant effects on Kenyan youth unemployment in the long run. Based on the results of the Impulse-Response Function and variance decomposition analyses of the Structural VECM, it is concluded that GDP, literacy level, population, and FDI shocks have significant effects on Kenyan youth unemployment in the long run. Whereas population, external debt, private investment, and GDP have positive effects, foreign direct investment and literacy rate have negative effects on youth unemployment in the long run. The results provide a statistical basis for assessing and prioritising investment policies and initiatives to maximise youth employment and attain the demographic dividend.

Abstract In this paper, we have tried to record the existing conditions of the demographic dividend in India using state-wise analysis approach. The paper examines the dependency ratios using more refined measures other than the conventionally used. In the paper, we have tried to formulate few measures to calculate the dependency ratios which can give a clear idea of dependency ratio in India. In the analysis, we have tried to find that how far the change in per capita GDP can be explained by a change in labour productivity, labour participation rate and working age-to-total population ratio. The growth of per capita has been decomposed into three factors by using shapely decomposition approach: (1) growth of output per worker; (2) growth linked to change in employment; (3) growth of working age-to-total population ratio.

A matéria realmente indica uma condição demográfica que o Brasil está experimentando, conforme descrito e analisado por precisamos observar algumas condições que são exigidas para que as oportunidades advindas dessa nova estrutura populacional se transformem em reais dividendos para a sociedade, como explicitado por WONG e CARVALHO

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the most resource-rich countries in the world, many of whom are endowed with large oil, gas and mineral deposits. This discussion paper examines the role of natural resources in the economic development and demography of countries in SSA, showcasing various paths states have taken that led them to either bless or curse the discovery and development of these resources.  By 2050, the number of oil and gas exporting countries in this region is expected to almost double to 22 from 12. An additional 16 will become mineral exporting countries, which will mean that more than 80
percent of SSA states will be dependent on natural resources. How the revenues earned are managed
and used will determine their economic and social future.
The region’s population in 2015 was estimated to be 949 million and is expected to grow to 2.6 billion by 2050, which will constitute more than 25 percent of global population. The change in age structures will mean that by 2030, sub-Saharan Africa will represent nearly two-thirds of the growth in the world’s workforce. There is an opportunity to reap the benefits of a demographic dividend in this transition but careful economic planning and policies are needed.  Natural resource-driven development in Africa to date has not led to economic growth that significantly
improved the welfare of people in these countries. The sector will not create enough jobs to cater for the number of people entering the workforce in the future without proper investment in health care, education and nutrition.

This paper presents an analytical understanding on the role of human capital in economic growth, focusing on India’s growth pattern and human capital formation. The fundamental questions which try to answer here are- is India a failure to convert its favorable population size into a productive human capital? What are the factors that pull back the country in successful formulation of its human capital? How India can harness its demographic dividend for potential future growth? The essay begins with an outline of a basic theoretical foundation of the presumed macroeconomic role of human capital on economic growth. It is followed by the discussion on the current empirical findings and the major flows in it. The remaining sections focus on the problem of human capital in India, and exclusively deals with the aforementioned questions we try to answer. The essay concludes with the policy recommendations for successful human capital formation in India.

Achieving the demographic dividend is a great opportunity and challenge for LDC. In order to realize the full potential of the current demographic transition, there is imminent necessity to target social and economic policies. If fertility rates remain at the current level the demographic change does not lead to a dividend but a disaster.

This article analyses poverty, in the light of the prevailing methodological and definitional debates, in Gujarat, one of the fastest growing states in India. We examine the divergence between the official and nutrition-based poverty lines (PLs) and analyse its possible causes. First, to study whether the 'PL bundle' has changed over time, we test whether poverty is sensitive to changes in the base year; second, we examine the impact of food prices on the change in consumption at given expenditure levels; and third, we study the possible relation between poverty and foodgrain availability. We conclude that poverty is underestimated because official figures do not consider the change in consumption patterns, occurring partly as a result of high relative food prices. Nutrition poverty levels in Gujarat are higher than all-India levels, which creates a case for direct nutritional intervention for the poor.

Demographic transition has been experienced by every country. Demographic dividend not only depends on changing age structure but also on human capital. With more people in the labor force and fewer children to support, a country has a window of opportunity for economic growth if the right social and economic investments and policies are made in health, education, governance and the economy. Indian economy has been experiencing a steady economic growth rate for the last two decades (though in recent times it shows a declining trend). The most significant feature of this growth phenomenon is that it has been service sector led growth and there has been a marked change in employment pattern. More skillful, technically sound, computer literate, vocationally trained human resources are required to achieve faster economic growth. The higher education system in India has undergone massive expansion in the postindependence period with a national resolution to establish several universities, technical institutes, research institutions professional and non-professional colleges across the country. After independence the Government of India laid stress on Primary Health Care and India has put in sustained efforts to better the health care system across the country. But Indian higher education system has certain limitations such as inadequate physical infrastructure, lack of quality and excellence & dearth of quality faculty members etc. The government initiative was not enough to meet the demands from a growing population be it in primary, secondary or tertiary health care. The present study tries to highlight whether India would be able to transform her favorable demographic structure into demographic dividend or face a disaster

In 2008 Japan became the first Asia-Pacific country to begin shrinking. In the 2020s and 30s South Korea and China will also begin to shrink, and may be accompanied by other countries in East and Southeast Asia. Many sub-national regions within growing countries are also shrinking, presaging a more widespread future depopulation. Japan is a pioneer in experiencing the impacts of depopulation and what is happening there may be instructive for other Asia-Pacific countries as they age and shrink. Depopulation is potentially good news, but it may bring some negative outcomes for affected communities. Can Japan lead Asia-Pacific countries in achieving a 21st century depopulation dividend, whereby the potential benefits of depopulation can be harnessed for a more sustainable future? What evidence is there from Japan’s past and present experience to suggest that a depopulation dividend is occurring? Or is there evidence that contradicts optimistic assumptions about the relationship between, for example, population shrinkage and resource consumption?

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world, yet there is a dearth of published research about its demography. As Nigeria enters a period of potentially rapid economic growth due to the increase in the working-age population, it is critical to understand the demographic trends in the country. This paper examines the age and sex composition of Nigeria as it relates to various population characteristics using the two most recent Demographic and Health Surveys for Nigeria (2003 and, as well as some data from the 2006 Census. It also highlights Nigeria's demographic composition and trends using United Nations population projection data, and its implications for the country reaping the demographic dividend. Finally, it draws some conclusions and makes some policy recommendations based on the findings.

India is running out of time to capitalize on the demographic dividend. Declining female Labour Participation in the workforce is a cause of concern. As per data suggested by ILO and Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, India lags behind even South Asian countries in terms of female participation in the workforce. This essay tries to analyze various social and cultural factors that deter women from joining the workforce. While pointing out issues in the socialization process, lack of security at the workplace, and the paradox of modern offices and traditional homes, the essay asks for a women-centric strategy to increase her role in the market economy.

La República del Paraguay, con una población estimada en 6.854.535 personas para 2016, se encuentra experimentando una etapa de profundos cambios estructurales. La aceleración de la transición demográfica y la generación del denominado “bono demográfico” han puesto a este último en la agenda pública.
En contraste con algunas visiones positivistas circulantes, se considera que el “bono” podría aparejar una interpelación a la coyuntura actual del mercado de trabajo (signado por el subempleo, la precariedad y la informalidad), a la atención sobre la persistencia de la matriz emigratoria y a un esquema autista de seguridad social. Tomando esos tres “puntos de fuga”, se invita a reencuadrar el enfoque a partir de interrogantes e interpelaciones sobre las tres dimensiones sectoriales consideradas claves en el “jaqueo” del próximo escenario demográfico en Paraguay.

This paper examines the relationship between age structure and economic growth in Bangladesh through co-integration and vector error correction model over the period 1990 to 2014. The Johansen co-integration tests indicate that all the variables are co-integrated with one co-integrating vector. The VECM long run causality model indicates that there is a long run causality running from gross domestic product (PPP) to labor force participation rate (% of total population ages 15-64) and population ages 15-64 (% of total). Similarly in the short run a causal relationship has been found among the variables as well. Further impulse response function and variance decomposition results says that labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-64) as well as population ages 15-64 (% of total) can explain the major variations. The implication of our findings is that in Bangladesh the growth of working age portfolio is likely to increase our economic growth in the long ru...

Kependudukan memiliki peranan tersembunyi dalam meningkatkan perekonomian, yaitu dengan kemunculan bonus demografi. Kota Banda Aceh sudah mulai menjalani era bonus demografi sejak tahun 2010. Sehingga Banda Aceh memiliki pertumbuhan ekonomi yang potensial dalam beberapa tahun ke depan. Namun, bonus demografi tidak dapat menjadi acuan dasar dalam pembangunan dan meningkatkan kesejahteraan. Untuk mewujudkan implementasi positif dari keuntungan demografi ini, ada beberapa kondisi yang harus terpenuhi, salah satunya terserapnya penduduk golongan muda saat ini dalam pasar kerja. Analisis deskriptif kualitatif merupakan metode analisis yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Bonus demografi akan terjadi dalam rentang tahun 2010-2020 di kota ini dan tingkat persiapan dalam sektor ketenagakerjaan sejauh ini belum optimal. Ini mengancam Banda Aceh tidak dapat merasakan manfaat dari windows of opportunity ini. Sehingga diperlukan adanya kebijakan dan program pemerintah kota dalam mempersiapkan penduduk usia produktif yang dapat menyongsong tantangan ekonomi daerah di masa depan, terutama dengan memperkuat sektor ketenagakerjaan dan kualitas pendidikan.

ABSTRACT To evaluate the prevalence and impacts of the illegitimate wage practice where employers pay formal employees both a declared wage and an additional undeclared 'envelope wage', a survey involving 10,171 interviews across 10 East–Central European nations is reported to evaluate its commonality and evidence from 313 interviews conducted in Moscow to analyse its impacts.

Even in the countries of the South life expectancy is rising and birth rates are falling. As a result, not only is population growth on the decline, but the proportion of minors in the population, too. Conversely, the proportion of inhabitants aged between 15 and 65 years who are gainfully employed and able to save is growing. During this period a rise in the savings ratio is likely, bringing higher growth rates, provided that the additional savings are invested productively in the country itself. The high rate of economic growth in East and South-East Asia since the late 1980s is probably due in part to this “demographic dividend”.The demographic dividend has, however, evaded most Latin American countries so far, their investment conditions being too unattractive in the years that mattered. Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and India can still benefit from the demographic dividend. This is also important because the propensity to save is likely to diminish in the industrialized countries over the next twenty years – again for demographic reasons – and they may even become net capital importers by 2030.For the developing countries it will therefore be even more essential than in the past to ensure profitable and safe investment conditions for domestic and foreign investors.

At 28 years old, Mussarat already has four children. The eldest is 10 and the youngest is just six months old. She begins her morning by rushing to a water pump to collect water in plastic cans for her home where there is not enough running water. She rushes back home to send her two older children to school and her husband to work, and then locks in her two younger children at home before rushing off to work as a cleaning lady at a home in Clifton.

[P]emerintah masih cenderung melihat angkatan kerja produktif ini (jika bukan seluruh rakyatnya) semata-mata sebagai tubuh-tubuh yang harus dioptimalkan energi vitalitasnya untuk meningkatkan performa ekonomi nasional. ... Dengan melihat dari perspektif kreativitas, sebenarnya ada dua bonus demografi lainnya yang berpotensi dipetik Indonesia. Sebut saja “bonus demografi kreatif.”

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world, yet there is a dearth of published research about its demography. As Nigeria enters a period of potentially rapid economic growth due to the increase in the working-age population, it is critical to understand the demographic trends in the country. This paper examines the age and sex composition of Nigeria as it relates to various population characteristics using the two most recent Demographic and Health Surveys for Nigeria (2003 and 2008), as well as some data from the 2006 Census. It also highlights Nigeria's demographic composition and trends using United Nations population projection data, and its implications for the country reaping the demographic dividend. Finally, it draws some conclusions and makes some policy recommendations based on the findings. Résumé Le Nigeria est le pays le plus peuplé d'Afrique et le huitième pays le plus peuplé du monde, mais il y a une pénuri...

The educational policy in India since liberalization shows a marked predilection towards market fundamentalism coupled with universal access through Right to Education Act (RTEA) and Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan (SSA). This has ensured both unfettered access and equity in primary education with proliferation of private universities increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in the tertiary sector. The Annual Survey of Educational Research (ASER) Report however reflects the scant concerns for basic infrastructural provisions for schools, apathetic attitude of teachers and high degree of student dropout. The higher education segment also does not reflect a commitment towards research, innovation leading to poor turnout in terms of patents and quality research papers. The paper brings out these trends as also the allocation apathy for educational sector. In this backdrop, the unique experiment of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) Odisha, a private sector initiative without governmental support, reflects a unique template of funding and quality which will be worthy of replication on a national scale. The Make in India initiative should factor in the quality concern from the primary stage of education in order to reap the rich demographic dividend that beckons India's aspirational youth cutting across caste, class, gender and religion.

The Indian economy has grown by more than 8 percent per year since 2003-04. This achievement has triggered a debate around the question: Is the fast economic growth of India based on a sound foundation that will ensure its sustainability in the future? This paper reviews varied arguments within this debate and concludes that scepticism seems to outweigh optimistic perspectives. This perception emerges because the Indian labour force is growing at 2 percent per year which is even faster than that of China. A majority of this labour force will be absorbed in agriculture and informal sector which have low productivity. The services sector is booming, but it cannot absorb major proportion of the growing low- and unskilled labour force. India needs to take benefit of its advancement in the IT sector to increase productivity of its agriculture and informal sector for maintaining the fast growth of economy.

The discourse on population growth has generally given a picture that the increase in the population of any society will negatively affect the utilisation of resources and ultimately overall development. A school of thought gave the impression that the more the population increases, the greater is the poverty, leading to underdevelopment, especially for countries in transition. This argument led to various suggestions and attempts at population control and huge budgetary spending, neglecting positive aspects of population size, particularly in the period of demographic transition, and stressing that growth in population size, especially at certain periods, could not lead to and promote development. But can population growth not be a blessing to growth, especially for the rural areas? This paper was anchored in demographic dividend and labour force models. Utilising some theoretical expositions and drawing from the lessons of countries that have transformed from underdevelopment to developed nations, the paper argued that demographic dividend can be harnessed for the development of especially rural areas in transitional countries like Nigeria. The paper concluded with the submission that, in order to tackle the pervasive poverty in Nigeria, disjointed and inconsistent rural development policies should be jettisoned and the utilization of rural population for the supply of economic goods and services for the overall development of the country embraced.

India is going through a very favorable situation of population composition of more than 50 percent of its population in the age bracket of 15-59 years ie, the working age group. This so called ‘demographic dividend’ opens a very advantageous window of opportunity to the overall economic growth and development of the Indian economy. As these opportunities are at the doorstep the government’s initiatives to harness this opening are need to be discussed. The article discusses briefly the current dismal picture of India to welcome this opening and the challenges ahead. The biggest lacuna of the government to harness the demographic dividend will be the lack of skilled manpower in India. For a country that adds 12 million people to its workforce every year, skill development is critical to enable the workforce to access quality work opportunities, and it is also the only way to make the largely uneducated workforce capable of realizing benefits from the labor market. Though the government has initiated number of skill development programmes from time to time, India still lag behinds to achieve the targets to better use its demographic window of opportunity.

The disagreements on changed stages of demographic transition and the role of a demographic dividend in a dual economy development process often lead to wide debates among scholars about China's development stages. This paper tries to reveal the nexus between demographic transition and dual economy development: the common starting point, close-related processes, and identical characteristics of stages. Based on the empirical evidence of population dynamics, the paper supports the judgment of diminishing demographic dividends and an imminent Lewis turning point in China. The paper also argues that keeping a sustainable and steady economic growth, and becoming a high-income country as early as possible is the key and only way to close the 'aging before affluence' gap. Accordingly, the paper concludes by proposing measures to exploit the potential of the first demographic dividend, creating conditions for a second demographic dividend, and tapping new sources of economic growth.

This research was set out to assess whether 'demographic dividend' is a far-fetched dream for most countries in Sub Saharan Africa. To achieve this aim, the research draws from a wide range of secondary sources, including data from publications as well as past research and evidence gathered from this study shows that the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region is still at the early stage of demographic transition thereby lagging when compared to other regions. The research concluded by aligning with the position that achieving demographic dividend may be a far-fetch dream for most countries in the Sub Saharan African region. Some policy recommendations were made with key emphasis on education, dulling out modern and safe contraception, bridging the gap of gender inequality, and investing in social amenities.

The discourse on population growth has generally given a picture that the increase in the population of any society will negatively affect the utilisation of resources and ultimately overall development. A school of thought gave the impression that the more the population increases, the greater is the poverty, leading to underdevelopment, especially for countries in transition. This argument led to various suggestions and attempts at population control and huge budgetary spending, neglecting positive aspects of population size, particularly in the period of demographic transition, and stressing that growth in population size, especially at certain periods, could not lead to and promote development. But can population growth not be a blessing to growth, especially for the rural areas? This paper was anchored in demographic dividend and labour force models. Utilising some theoretical expositions and drawing from the lessons of countries that have transformed from underdevelopment to d...

The paper deals with the way demographic transitions everywhere have proven themselves to be an important source of social and economic change. The paper has two parts. In the first one, the different ways in which change takes place over the medium and long run are assessed. Age structure, migration, reproductive efficiency and familial strategies, and adult health are all ways in which the transformational effects of demographic change are felt. In the second part of the paper the way the rate of change of vital rates conditions these beneficial effects in different areas of the world is discussed.

Globally, India is uniquely important due to the sheer size of its population and the unorthodox trajectory of its changing character. With a population of more than 1.3 billion, it contains nearly 18 percent of the global population and is expected to surpass China (population of 1.38 billion in 2015) within the next six years to become the most populous country in the world. Interestingly, during the first census after India’s independence in 1947, the population of India was only 68 percent of that of China. It is now as high as 95 percent. According to 2015 estimates, the population of China is increasing by approximately 7 million people per year while the population of India increases by about 16 million per year. While India is the seventh largest economy in the world, its rank acutely falls to 140 and 129 based on per capita income and per capita purchasing power parity (PPP) figures respectively. The salience of India’s growing population is undeniable, but the country is a...

Connectivity, complexity, and changing relations of power have transformed the way that Timor-Leste is drafting its post-conflict recovery agenda. Against this backdrop, there is an increasing claim by a diverse constituency in the nation regarding the notion of shared responsibility as the central mainstay of its societal format and development structures.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world, yet there is a dearth of published research about its demography. As Nigeria enters a period of potentially rapid economic growth due to the increase in the working-age population, it is critical to understand the demographic trends in the country. This paper examines the age and sex composition of Nigeria as it relates to various population characteristics using the two most recent Demographic and Health Surveys for Nigeria (2003 and, as well as some data from the 2006 Census. It also highlights Nigeria's demographic composition and trends using United Nations population projection data, and its implications for the country reaping the demographic dividend. Finally, it draws some conclusions and makes some policy recommendations based on the findings.

ABSTRACT To evaluate the prevalence and impacts of the illegitimate wage practice where employers pay formal employees both a declared wage and an additional undeclared 'envelope wage', a survey involving 10,171 interviews across 10 East–Central European nations is reported to evaluate its commonality and evidence from 313 interviews conducted in Moscow to analyse its impacts. Finding that 10% of employees were paid envelope wages during 2007 amounting on average to two-fifths of their gross wage, and that this ...