UNIT 2 economics demographic research and development

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3. Josue De Castro's Protein Consumption Theory In 1952, Josue De Castro (1908-1973), in his book 'Geography of Hunger', contended that the deficiency of proteins makes undernourished people more fertile than those who are well nourished. his conclusions on the negative correlation between the protein content of the diet and the birth rate of various countries . Josué de Castro in his “geography of hunger” already 1946 stressed the regional peculiarities in analysing the causes of hunger and of malnutrition (de Castro 1946). De Castro’s views on the correlation between fertility and the consumption of protein were based on his acceptance of the findings of R.J. Solankar who had conducted experiments on rats in 1920 and found that with the increase in protein consumption in diet, fecundity had decreased and thus, it was expected that a low-protein diet would increase fecundity . He concluded that the hunger as an issue significantly affecting the entire world and studied hunger meticulously, focusing on the nutrition of children, the make up of peoples’ diets, and the specific type of malnutrition present in each population.

4. He stressed that malnutrition was particularly dangerous because of its weakening effect on an organism that increased its vulnerability to many types of infection. The hungry, according to de Castro, were more likely to contract diseases like tuberculosis, pneumonia, dysentery, and typhoid fever (Castro, 1952 ). Josue de Castro (1952), 7 has contended that deficiency of proteins makes under-nourished people more fertile than those who are well-nourished . the negative correlation between the protein content of the diet and the birth rates of various countries . Therefore it is required to enriched food with high protein content to slow population growth among the lower class of the world. His themes are very much the opposite of those sounded by the neo-Malthusians. He does not believe that hunger is the "natural result of overpopulation," but is rather a man-made phenomenon. he undertakes to demonstrate that hunger, rather than being the result of overpopulation, is the cause of it . The work presented new formulations for underdevelopment, and was granted with The Franklin D. Roosevelt Foundation Award . Josue de Castro focused on the protein diet, most of the nutritionist adopt his theory to improve the health status of the humans through natural diet like soya bean and legumes. Castro concluded that fatness is affected by consumption of protein. Fatness increases with protein in the diet, leading to lower fertility. Castro’s propositions are like Doubleday’s diet theory which states that the rate of population increase is influenced by food supply.

5. Castro also found a direct relation between the functioning of the liver and that of the ovaries. In his words, “It is known that there is a direct connection between the functioning of the liver and the ovaries, the role of the liver being to inactivate the excess estrogens which the ovaries throw into the blood stream. Fatty degeneration of the liver and the tendency to cirrhosis (a condition in which the liver does not function properly due to long-term damage) are some of the characteristic result of protein deficiency when degeneration of the liver occurs, it begins to operate less efficiently, and is less effective at its job of inactivating excess estrogens . The result is a marked increase in the women’s reproductive capacity”. According to Castro, balanced food is not available to the poor and therefore poor people are always getting less protein in food which results in sluggish liver function. Consequently, when males have defective livers, the estrogens in women’s body cannot be neutralized, and with an increase in estrogens , women’s reproductive capacity increases. This results in a high birth rate. Therefore, compared to the rich, the birth rate in the poor people with chronic hunger (malnutrition) is high. However, sexual activity goes down when there is acute hunger.

6. Castro concluded that efforts should be made to bring more land under the plough with improved farming methods and extensive cultivation. This would be only possible through economic development, leading to rising incomes for the poor, which would increase their protein consumption. Criticisms of Josue De Castro’s Protein Consumption Theory  High fertility has been observed in many developed countries with increased protein in the diet of the people.  There is no scientific basis for the assertion that a protein rich diet leads to lower fertility

7. Fertility always does not increase in poor people because it is not true that chronic hunger will always give more importance to sex .  In poor countries, the reasons for high birth rate are poverty and unbalanced diet. However, the influence on population growth of factors like agriculture-based economy, social, religious or cultural structure of the society, education; existence of joint family system, marriage at early age, etc. cannot be ignored.  Economists do not accept the view that human fertility depends on diet alone. According to Coontz , fluctuations in fertility during the trade cycle cannot be explained in terms of diet4 .  Castro’s view that with economic development, fertility can decline has been criticized by Leibenstein . According to him, “The reasons why this approach is fallacious is that the economy might not have experienced sustained development if fertility rates had not declined at some crucial stage during the expansion.  The relation between diet and fecundity was criticized by Thomson and Lewis who said that there is no scientific basis for the belief that good diet or relative abundance of calorie intake have any noticeable effect upon fecundity. Rather, fertility may be affected by the preventive checks of various kinds, while fecundity remains unchanged6 .

8. Dumont’s Theory of Social Capillarity: Arsene Dumont (1849-1902) has propounded the Theory of Social Capillarity. Dumont studied the growth of population in France in the later part of nineteenth century and found that the reason for low fertility in France was high intellectual and aesthetic development. “The development of number in a nation is in inverse ratio to the development of individual.” According to him, “The direct cause of decline in birth rate was the movement of individual from the lower to the upper class. The individual tends to rise to higher levels in his social environment by process similar to physical capillarity.” “what gravity is to the physical world, capillarity is to the social order.”

9. principles of population In the preventive stage, the Malthusian theory of population applies where human beings live like animals. On what they can find, they increase in geometrical progression. In the intermediate stage, “Population proportions itself automatically.” - In such a society, population increases as food supply increases because population can produce food itself. Here positive checks do not become necessary. 3. In a modern civilized society, Dumont applies his social capillarity principle. In such a society, every individual wants to achieve higher economic and social status. For this, a small family is imperative, because one cannot climb high on the social ladder with the burden of more no of kids in the family.

10. When an individual earns more income and wealth, his ambition for better position and higher social prestige goes up and consequently the number of children decreases. Therefore, in a civilized society due to social capillarity, fertility goes down, it also decreases when people migrate to cities from rural or backward areas.

11. Demographic Transition 1 . C on c ep t Wha t i s t h e demog r aph i c t r an s i t i on ? 2 . S t age s What are the major stages of its occurrence? 3 . G eog r aph i c a l V a r i a t i on s D oe s t h e demog r aph i c t r an s i t i o n o cc u rr e d a t t h e s a m e t i m e an d places? A

12. 1 C on c ept Overview A “ s o c i a l mode r n i z a t i on ” o f t h e r ep r odu ct i o n p r o c e ss: I mp r o v ed hea l t h c a r e an d a cc e ss t o f am il y p l ann i ng . H i ghe r edu c a t i ona l l e v e l s, e s p e c i a ll y amon g w o men . Economic growth and rising per capita income levels. U r ban i z a t i o n an d g r o w i n g emp l o y m en t oppo r t un i t i e s. I n v o l v e s mo v i n g f r o m on e equ ili b r i u m t o ano t he r : Initial equilibrium: High birth and death rates. F i na l equ ili b r i um : Lo w b i r t h an d dea t h r a t e s. T heo r y ba ck e d b y s o li d emp i r i c a l e v i den c e . I n v o l v e s f ou r pha s e s.

13. Theory of Demographic Transition is a theory that throws light on changes in birth rate and death rate and consequently on the growth-rate of population.   The theory of demographic transition (or of population stages or of population cycle) has many versions. It has been propounded by American demographer W.S. Thomson (1929) and F.W. Notestein (1945). They explain the theory in three stages. Later on C.P. Blacker's Five Stages of Population growth added in this model.

14. The theory of demographic transition explains the effects of changes in birth rate and death rate on the growth rate of population. According to E.G. Dolan, "Demographic transition refers to a population cycle that begins with a fall in the death rate , continues with a phase of rapid population growth and concludes with a decline in the birth rate ." This theory states that every country passes through different stages of population development. According to C.P. Blacker, 5 stages are:

15. Stage 1 : High birth and death rates , resulting in stable or slow population growth . The population pyramid is wide at the base , indicating a high proportion of young people . Stage 2 : Birth rates remain high, but death rates decline rapidly due to improvements in healthcare and sanitation . This results in a period of rapid population growth . The population pyramid narrows at the base , indicating a declining proportion of young people . Stage 3 : Birth rates begin to decline , as families choose to have fewer children. Death rates continue to decline , but at a slower pace . Population growth slows down . The population pyramid becomes more rectangular , indicating a more balanced age distribution.

16. Stage 4 : Both birth and death rates are low , resulting in a stable population . The population pyramid becomes more balanced , with fewer young people and more older people . Stage 5 : Death rates may remain low , but birth rates may fall below death rates . The population may decline , leading to a wider base than top population pyramid .

17. The criticisms focus on three main points: Non-uniform stages : the stages of the demographic transition do not always occur in a uniform way across different countries. For instance, some countries experienced a decline in fertility rates even when mortality rates were high, contradicting the expected sequence. Birth rate decline in urban areas : The birth rates decline initially in urban areas, citing examples of countries with predominantly rural populations that experienced similar birth rate decline as countries with urban populations.

18. Lack of fundamental explanations : The theory for failing to provide fundamental explanations for the decline in birth rates in Western countries. It suggests that the reasons for this decline are diverse and vary significantly from country to country, making it difficult to generalize.