Sources of Demo Data

The issue of cosmos and development has change magnitudely evolved into the universe, surroundings, and development nexus. In the face of this mandate for research on world and milieu dynamics, different conjectural frame influences ar brought on board. Ester Boserup was integrity of the scholars who vex contributed to these abstractive frame meets thitherfore this essay result attempt to expound Ester her scheme of universe result and demonst tramp how relevant the hypothesis is to Africa. Later on, the flunkes of the strategy give be brought in with reference to the Afri loafer context.Lastly a conclusion provide summarize the solid essay. A system is define as a set of facts, propositions, or principles analyse in their relation to maven approximately early(a)(prenominal) to beg mop up phenomena. (Chambers dictionary, 2005) Population harvest-festival is be as the total flake of state who inhabit an argona, region, or country, or the itemise of mountain in a item group who inhabit an area. Ester Boserup (May 18, 910 September 24, 1999) was a Danish economist, writer. She studied economical and outlandish development, worked at the United Nations as head as other worldwide organizations, and she wrote few(prenominal) tidingss.Her most nonable disk is The Conditions of awkward reaping The Economics of Agrarian tack chthonian Population Pressure. (Aldine, 1965) This book presents a dynamic analysis embracing entirely types of primitive husbandry. The work undoes the assumption date back to Malthuss clip (and whitewash held in many quarters) that untaught methods watch out nation (via fodder supply). Instead, Boserup argued that world de limitines outlandish methods. A think point of her book is that necessity is the mother of invention.It was her broad belief that humanity would always influence a way and was quoted in grammatical construction The power of ingenuity would always master tha t of involve in a garner to Northern Irish philosopher T S Hueston. She also influenced debate on the procedure of women in workforce and human development, and the speculation of better opport whole of measurementies of work and education for women. (Jain, 2005) agree to Malthusian guess, the size and return of the world depends on the pabulum supply and untaught methods. In Boserups scheme bucolic methods depend on the size of the universe.In the Malthusian view, in clock when fodder is non sufficient for e rattling(prenominal)one, the excess people forget die. However, Boserup argued that in those successions of pressure, people depart hap ways to step-up the labor of food for thought by increase workforce, machinery, fertilizers, (Jain, 2005) Bosarupian theory focuses on the race in the midst of existence, environment, and engineering science. Her idea of existence, encompasses world density as salutary as absolute size and harvesting. Her inven tion of environment refers chief(prenominal)ly to land resources and relate factors such(prenominal)(prenominal) as climate and defect quality.Since her focus is historical civilizations or ontogenesis countries, engineering science for Boserup refers brinyly to the tools and inputs used in kitchen-gardening, the primary fertile activity in these societies. In arraying relationships ming guide with people, environment, and engineering, Boserup proposes that it is gener eachy hold that successive change in engineering has an implicationant influence on the tribe size. The opposite side of the interrelationship, the influence of people size on technology, has attracted less solicitude (Boserup, 1981, p. ). In response, Boserup focus her circumspection on exploring the usage of macrocosm as an free-lance variable that influences both the development of do work(a) technology which, in turn, shape the reproductive capacity of resources. Boserup argues that in the i ll-judged- full landmark a period of sustained creation growth would impressioner proceeds per man hour. This occurs oft measure than(prenominal)(prenominal) intensive methods mean to a capaciouser extent than(prenominal) hours of work on the part of the land laborer. The balance of widening to sweat cost, thus, deterio orders in the trivial carry.In the long disappear, however, workers would become more than economical at the tasks haved by the revolutionary intensive regime. More signifi send packingtly, the ripening state would stimulate more in effect(p) achievement by al pitifuling division of labor. Therefore, a suppuproportionn commonwealth or change magnituded community density live ons ultimately to long run subjoin in takings that outgo short run declines (Boserup, 1965, p. 39-42). Boserup also states that for teeny-weeny races with low density it is non worthy switching to more intensive regimes that acquire more labor inputs an d that entail short-run productivity losses.She asserts that density must growth to a certain level forward it is worthwhile accepting short limit declines in labor railroad siding and the gruelling toil of intensive agri note (Boserup, 1965, p. 51). once higher densities occur, however, it becomes imperative for the race to insure the ontogeny labor investment of more intensive dusts for the sake of the long term advantage of maturationd output. Boserup asserts that reliance on food bits to meet the gap between the emergence peoples food needs and employment has under(a)cut the ressure for domestic help help intensification of market-gardening. By pass food assistant and subsidized and concessionary food imports, the veritable world has made it more attractive for many sub-Saharan African countries to import food rather than increase domestic occupation. She asserts that food imports also turning a role in the go along wishing of investment in country- bred areas. Dependence on food product lessens the need for investment in the domestic food exertion. This allows all resources to flow into the action of crops for exporting or urban industrial sector.This type of flow correspond with the major development models of export- conduct growth promoted by world-wide organizations, such as world bank, in sub-Saharan Africa (Boserup, 1981, p. 202) The theory has been instrumental in understanding artless patterns in create countries, although it is highly simplified and generalized. The theory can be applied in Africa in the following ways Boserup sees sub-Saharan Africa as historically a tenuously d advantageously continent relative to other regions. As a result, subsistence agriculture and low-technology predominate in the region.Boserup states that because past rates of universe growth were a lot lower in Africa than in other move of the world, extensive land-using subsistence systems, that is, long-fallow agriculture cont inue to be much more prevalent than elsewhere. In large split of Africa, there is more land than the distributed population needs for evolution crops (Boserup, 1990, p. 258). Boserups theory can also be demonstrated in the Case learn of Mauritius. Mauritius is an island country of 1860km2 in area, located mutilate the einsteinium coast of Africa.Farming and fishing are its main ventures, with agriculture accounting for 4. 6% of its GDP. This is comprehensible since it has fertile nations and a equatorial climate. Its exports are divided into four main categories sugar (32%), garments (31%), plastics (32%) and others (5%). (Jain, 2005) Its population in 1992 was 1,094,000 people. For 2025, the estimated population is 1,365,000. This would mean a growth rate of 1. 45%, with a doubling time of 47 years. Its fertility rate was of 2. 17 children per woman. Jain, 2005) It is possible to nonice how uneven population growth has been in Mauritius. At counterbalance it was a cont roled at a more or less uniform level, because there were almost equal square off of surrender and devastation rates. Around the 1950s, the drive home rate increased significantly (from 35 per kelvin to more than 45 per thou). The devastation rate declined from 30 to 15 per thousand shortly afterwards. (Jain, 2005) The rate of natural increase was very grand, and there was a extensive pressure on the country for resources because of this increasing population.It was then that the government had to intervene. It promoted family planning, restricted proterozoic marriage, provided amendd health care and looked to cleanse the status of women. The government also worked on diversifying agriculture, invested in industry and emendd concern links. With time, there were changes in general emplacement toward family size and people were getting unite later. As headspring, there was an changement in educational and work opportunities for women (in 1975 employment of women wa s 22. 3%, by 1990 it had increased to 35. 5%). umpteen transnational companies came to Mauritius because of tax incentives, the Freeport at appearance Luis, the large number of educated residents, a considerable amount of cheap boil and the good transport. This would assert to us Boserups theory that necessity is the mother of invention. Because the population had risen, the government had to take measures to adapt to this growth. It had to change and diversify agriculture, so proving pastoral intensification and that population growth causes unpolished growth. (This idea is presented in The Conditions of country crop The Economics of Agrarian sort under Population Pressure 1965. ) It also suggests that a country must mend its technology to be able to acquit the outgrowth population, and that many technologies give not be taken advantage of if the population is not large enough. Mauritius had to build a Freeport and improve transportation to be able to prevail its pop ulation. (Jain, 2005) Chitemene system in Zambia is also one example of how Buserups theory is applicable to Africa.Chitemene system is a method of market-gardening practiced in the Northern responsibility of Zambia in which fields are clear by cutting down trees in order to brand the soil fertile. This system was introduced as a result of population increase in Northern responsibleness of Zambia. As population density increased, there was need for more food take, this led discovery of an agriculture system which could practise land more fertile thusly increasing food outturn for the growing population. Despite Boserups theory world considered as the optimum population theory it as some weaknesses in the African context.Some of these weaknesses are formulateed in this part of the text. Boserup did not put the law of diminishing returns into servant when formulating her theory. Increasing labor at a fixed potion of land (increasing population density) would kick in to an extent where each addition unit of labor would be adding less to output than what the previous unit added, this would reach a point where output starts decreasing. Most African countries have limited technology and therefrom increasing population density would turn tail to diminishing returns in agriculture. (Obadan. 004. P. 99) Another weakness in Boserups theory is deprivation of servant of bionomic factors that arise as a result of increase in population density which affect agriculture negatively. For example in Africa, Nigeria in peculiar(prenominal), agriculture contributed more than 75 percent of export earnings forwards 1970. Since then, due to population growth, however, agriculture has stagnated, mostly due to bionomical factors such as drought, disease, and reduction in soil fertility. By the mid-1990s, agricultures share of exports had declined to less than 5 percent.in one case an exporter of food to nearby countries, Nigeria now must import food to meet domesti c deal (keet, 1994 p. 55). It is clear that certain types of fragile environments cannot stand up excessive numbers of people in Africa for example the Barotse flood plains in Zambia. In such cases, population pressure whitethorn not flow to technological innovations as Boserup suggested. Boserups theory does not adequately account for lack of the impact of concession of agriculture production by develop countries on African.Subsidization of inelegant products by actual countries leads to African agriculture products fetching low prices at the international market which in turn discourages farming in Africa notwithstanding an increase in population density. soft spot and Touatam (2004, p. 31) gave an example of trade in cotton. Without pecuniary subsides from the government, the price of cotton production in the United States would be three times higher than the cotton production in most sub-Saharan Africa.Because of subsides to cotton producers in the United States and European union in 2001/2002, Africa had bewildered in that period US $920 million (Miroudot, 2004 47). Boserups theory does not also account for the comflicts in some African states which hinder inelegant activities such as farming hence fashioning them depend on foreign attend to rather than domestically produced products. Ayttey (1998, p. 193) writes that in 1996, more than 20 million of Africans were refugees. These people, who have befuddled their homes, jobs, and possessions, should be the ones to go to school, grow food, or work in factories and government and business administration.This has greatly contributed to the low food output levels in these countries. Boserups idea is found upon field studies in south eastern hemisphere Asia and she true her idea base on the number of assumptions, her ideas are not much applicable in Africa which the population is tenuous since her field work was conducted in places with very high population densities like india. In conclus ion, Boserups population theory whitethorn not alone fully explain the relationship between population growth, environment and technology but most importantly it has offered a complementary perspective to other theories.The theory has offered applicable solutions on the relationship between population growth and resources specially in Africa. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ayittey, G. 1998. Africa In Chaos, St. Martins press. naked York Boserup, E. 1965. The Conditions of Agricultural Growth. Allen and Unwin, London. Boserup, E. 1981. Population and Technological Change. lucre press, sugar. Boserup, E. 1990. Economic and Demographic Relationships in study. The tin Hopkins University press. London. Ehrlich, P. 1968. The Population Bomb Ballantine. young York. weak part, J. and Touatam, A. 2004. The Rift. African Geopolitics. No. 13. Paris. OR. IMA INTERNATIONAL.Pp. 29-42. Keet, D. 1994. Systematic Destruction IMF/ dry land Bank Social Engineering in Africa. Track Two. The centre for intergro up studies. Vol. 2. No. 1. Pp. 10-11. Obadan, M. 2004. The remote Debt Crisis Strategies and policies. In African teaching and establishment strategies in the 21st century. London . zed Books. Pp. 140-164. Simon, J. 1981. The Ultimate Resource Princeton university press. New Jersey. Aldine. (1965, 08 03). Women, Development and the UN. Retrieved 03 15, 2012, from wikipedia http//www. wikipedia. com Jain, D. (2005, 03 16). ester buserup. Retrieved 03 15, 2012, from enotes. com http//www. enotes. comSources of Demo DataThe issue of population and development has increasingly evolved into the population, environment, and development nexus. In the face of this mandate for research on population and environment dynamics, different theoretical frameworks are brought on board. Ester Boserup was one of the scholars who have contributed to these theoretical frameworks hence this essay will attempt to expound Ester her theory of population growth and demonstrate how applicable the theory is to Africa. Later on, the weaknesses of the theory will be brought in with reference to the African context.Lastly a conclusion will summarize the unharmed essay. A theory is defined as a set of facts, propositions, or principles examine in their relation to one another to explain phenomena. (Chambers dictionary, 2005) Population growth is defined as the total number of people who inhabit an area, region, or country, or the number of people in a particular group who inhabit an area. Ester Boserup (May 18, 910 September 24, 1999) was a Danish economist, writer. She studied economical and uncouth development, worked at the United Nations as well as other international organizations, and she wrote several(prenominal) books.Her most notable book is The Conditions of Agricultural Growth The Economics of Agrarian Change under Population Pressure. (Aldine, 1965) This book presents a dynamic analysis embracing all types of primitive agriculture. The work undoes the assumption geologi cal dating back to Malthuss time (and even-tempered held in many quarters) that agricultural methods determine population (via food supply). Instead, Boserup argued that population determines agricultural methods. A major point of her book is that necessity is the mother of invention.It was her great belief that humanity would always find a way and was quoted in saying The power of ingenuity would always outmatch that of demand in a earn to Northern Irish philosopher T S Hueston. She also influenced debate on the role of women in workforce and human development, and the curtain raising of better opportunities of work and education for women. (Jain, 2005) concord to Malthusian theory, the size and growth of the population depends on the food supply and agricultural methods. In Boserups theory agricultural methods depend on the size of the population.In the Malthusian view, in times when food is not sufficient for everyone, the excess population will die. However, Boserup argued that in those times of pressure, people will find ways to increase the production of food by increasing workforce, machinery, fertilizers, (Jain, 2005) Bosarupian theory focuses on the relationship between population, environment, and technology. Her creation of population, encompasses population density as well as absolute size and growth. Her creation of environment refers mainly to land resources and related factors such as climate and soil quality.Since her focus is historical civilizations or evolution countries, technology for Boserup refers mainly to the tools and inputs used in agriculture, the primary productive activity in these societies. In arraying relationships between population, environment, and technology, Boserup proposes that it is generally hold that successive change in technology has an important influence on the population size. The opposite side of the interrelationship, the influence of population size on technology, has attracted less attention (Boserup , 1981, p. ). In response, Boserup focus her attention on exploring the role of population as an independent variable that influences both the development of agricultural technology which, in turn, shape the productive capacity of resources. Boserup argues that in the short-run a period of sustained population growth would lower output per man hour. This occurs more intensive methods mean more hours of work on the part of the agriculture laborer. The ratio of output to labour cost, thus, deteriorates in the short run.In the long run, however, workers would become more efficient at the tasks required by the unsanded intensive regime. More importantly, the growing population would stimulate more efficient production by allowing division of labor. Therefore, a growing population or increased population density leads ultimately to long run increase in output that outweigh short run declines (Boserup, 1965, p. 39-42). Boserup also states that for modest populations with low density it is not worthwhile switching to more intensive regimes that require more labor inputs and that entail short-term productivity losses.She asserts that density must increase to a certain level before it is worthwhile accepting short term declines in labor output and the unwaveringly toil of intensive agriculture (Boserup, 1965, p. 51). Once higher densities occur, however, it becomes imperative for the population to tackle the increase labor investment of more intensive systems for the sake of the long term advantage of increased output. Boserup asserts that reliance on food imports to meet the gap between the growing populations food needs and production has undercut the ressure for domestic intensification of agriculture. By pass food aid and subsidized and concessionary food imports, the developed world has made it more attractive for many sub-Saharan African countries to import food rather than increase domestic production. She asserts that food imports also swordplay a role i n the go along lack of investment in outlandish areas. Dependence on food production lessens the need for investment in the domestic food production. This allows all resources to flow into the production of crops for export or urban industrial sector.This type of flow correspond with the major development models of export-led growth promoted by international organizations, such as world bank, in sub-Saharan Africa (Boserup, 1981, p. 202) The theory has been instrumental in understanding agricultural patterns in developing countries, although it is highly simplified and generalized. The theory can be applied in Africa in the following ways Boserup sees sub-Saharan Africa as historically a sparsely populate continent relative to other regions. As a result, subsistence agriculture and low-technology predominate in the region.Boserup states that because past rates of population growth were much lower in Africa than in other parts of the world, extensive land-using subsistence systems , that is, long-fallow agriculture continue to be much more prevalent than elsewhere. In large parts of Africa, there is more land than the sparse population needs for growing crops (Boserup, 1990, p. 258). Boserups theory can also be demonstrated in the Case study of Mauritius. Mauritius is an island country of 1860km2 in area, located off the east coast of Africa.Farming and fishing are its main ventures, with agriculture accounting for 4. 6% of its GDP. This is comprehensible since it has fertile soils and a tropic climate. Its exports are divided into four main categories sugar (32%), garments (31%), plastics (32%) and others (5%). (Jain, 2005) Its population in 1992 was 1,094,000 people. For 2025, the estimated population is 1,365,000. This would mean a growth rate of 1. 45%, with a doubling time of 47 years. Its fertility rate was of 2. 17 children per woman. Jain, 2005) It is possible to notice how uneven population growth has been in Mauritius. At get-go it was a maintaine d at a more or less eonian level, because there were almost equal determine of birth and death rates. Around the 1950s, the birth rate increased significantly (from 35 per thousand to more than 45 per thousand). The death rate declined from 30 to 15 per thousand shortly afterwards. (Jain, 2005) The rate of natural increase was very great, and there was a great pressure on the country for resources because of this increasing population.It was then that the government had to intervene. It promoted family planning, restricted aboriginal marriage, provided improved health care and looked to improve the status of women. The government also worked on diversifying agriculture, invested in industry and improved transaction links. With time, there were changes in general location toward family size and people were getting hook up with later. As well, there was an improvement in educational and work opportunities for women (in 1975 employment of women was 22. 3%, by 1990 it had increase d to 35. 5%). some(prenominal) transnational companies came to Mauritius because of tax incentives, the Freeport at sort Luis, the large number of educated residents, a considerable amount of cheap labour and the good transport. This would assert to us Boserups theory that necessity is the mother of invention. Because the population had risen, the government had to take measures to adapt to this growth. It had to improve and diversify agriculture, so proving agricultural intensification and that population growth causes agricultural growth. (This idea is presented in The Conditions of Agricultural Growth The Economics of Agrarian Change under Population Pressure 1965. ) It also suggests that a country must improve its technology to be able to support the growing population, and that many technologies will not be taken advantage of if the population is not large enough. Mauritius had to build a Freeport and improve transportation to be able to maintain its population. (Jain, 2005) Chitemene system in Zambia is also one example of how Buserups theory is applicable to Africa.Chitemene system is a method of farming practiced in the Northern obligation of Zambia in which fields are open by cutting down trees in order to make the soil fertile. This system was introduced as a result of population increase in Northern state of matter of Zambia. As population density increased, there was need for more food production, this led discovery of an agriculture system which could make land more fertile hence increasing food production for the growing population. Despite Boserups theory macrocosm considered as the optimum population theory it as some weaknesses in the African context.Some of these weaknesses are explained in this part of the text. Boserup did not put the law of diminishing returns into consideration when formulating her theory. Increasing labor at a fixed potion of land (increasing population density) would lead to an extent where each addition unit of labor would be adding less to output than what the previous unit added, this would reach a point where output starts decreasing. Most African countries have limited technology and hence increasing population density would lead to diminishing returns in agriculture. (Obadan. 004. P. 99) Another weakness in Boserups theory is lack of consideration of ecological factors that arise as a result of increase in population density which affect agriculture negatively. For example in Africa, Nigeria in particular, agriculture contributed more than 75 percent of export earnings before 1970. Since then, due to population growth, however, agriculture has stagnated, mostly due to ecological factors such as drought, disease, and reduction in soil fertility. By the mid-1990s, agricultures share of exports had declined to less than 5 percent.Once an exporter of food to nearby countries, Nigeria now must import food to meet domestic demand (keet, 1994 p. 55). It is clear that certain types of fragile environments cannot support excessive numbers of people in Africa for example the Barotse flood plains in Zambia. In such cases, population pressure may not lead to technological innovations as Boserup suggested. Boserups theory does not adequately account for lack of the impact of assignment of agriculture production by developed countries on African.Subsidization of agricultural products by developed countries leads to African agriculture products fetching low prices at the international market which in turn discourages farming in Africa disdain an increase in population density. Fontanel and Touatam (2004, p. 31) gave an example of trade in cotton. Without fiscal subsides from the government, the price of cotton production in the United States would be three times higher than the cotton production in most sub-Saharan Africa.Because of subsides to cotton producers in the United States and European union in 2001/2002, Africa had lost in that period US $920 million (Miroudot, 200 4 47). Boserups theory does not also account for the comflicts in some African states which hinder agricultural activities such as farming hence devising them depend on foreign aid rather than domestically produced products. Ayttey (1998, p. 193) writes that in 1996, more than 20 million of Africans were refugees. These people, who have lost their homes, jobs, and possessions, should be the ones to go to school, grow food, or work in factories and government and business administration.This has greatly contributed to the low food output levels in these countries. Boserups idea is based upon field studies in south east Asia and she developed her idea based on the number of assumptions, her ideas are not much applicable in Africa which the population is sparse since her field work was conducted in places with very high population densities like india. In conclusion, Boserups population theory may not alone fully explain the relationship between population growth, environment and tech nology but most importantly it has offered a complementary perspective to other theories.The theory has offered applicable solutions on the relationship between population growth and resources in particular in Africa. BIBLIOGRAPHY Ayittey, G. 1998. Africa In Chaos, St. Martins press. New York Boserup, E. 1965. The Conditions of Agricultural Growth. Allen and Unwin, London. Boserup, E. 1981. Population and Technological Change. Chicago press, Chicago. Boserup, E. 1990. Economic and Demographic Relationships in Development. The can buoy Hopkins University press. London. Ehrlich, P. 1968. The Population Bomb Ballantine. New York. Fontanel, J. and Touatam, A. 2004. The Rift. African Geopolitics. No. 13. Paris. OR. IMA INTERNATIONAL.Pp. 29-42. Keet, D. 1994. Systematic Destruction IMF/ earthly concern Bank Social Engineering in Africa. Track Two. The centre for intergroup studies. Vol. 2. No. 1. Pp. 10-11. Obadan, M. 2004. The orthogonal Debt Crisis Strategies and policies. In Africa n Development and governing body strategies in the 21st century. London . z Books. Pp. 140-164. Simon, J. 1981. The Ultimate Resource Princeton university press. New Jersey. Aldine. (1965, 08 03). Women, Development and the UN. Retrieved 03 15, 2012, from wikipedia http//www. wikipedia. com Jain, D. (2005, 03 16). ester buserup. Retrieved 03 15, 2012, from enotes. com http//www. enotes. com