The choice of the"right"fiscal relationship between central, provincial, and local governments depends on how a government weighs the benefits of decentralized economic development policies against the costs of having less effective central fiscal management. Three strong forces justify more...

This article discusses the concept of overpopulation and its practical relevance. Definitions of overpopulation are considered, including approaches centred on sustainability and on average or total welfare. Overpopulation has been linked to the wish for national population policies, which raise...

The authors of this paper examine Amartya Sen's contributions to the concept of human well-being from a gender perspective and argue that this concept is particularly useful for explaining women's decisions on contraceptive use. The study draws on data collected in six rural communities of...

This paper tries to assess whether the recent adoption by population establishment agencies of feminist language and concerns also embodies feminist visions and values, or whether it hides fundamental differences. In particular, the paper warns that this adoption may simply be an expression of...

Recent stagnation in the reduction of infant mortality in India can arguably be attributed to early child bearing practices and the lack of progress in lengthening birth intervals. Meanwhile, family planning efforts have been particularly successful in the southern states such as Andhra Pradesh,...

В России на сегодняшний день материальное положение многодетных семей, одиноких матерей, семей с детьми-инвалидами значительно ухудшилось. С 1 января 2007 года...

This study presents some critical opinions regarding the definition of the demographic policy, pointing out the differencies between the two concept – population policies and demographic policy -, the history and the evolution of the demographic policy during the last half of the 20th century,...

Together with three colleagues, I have been asked by the MPIDR to debate the following question: “Should governments in Europe be more aggressive in pushing for gender equality to raise fertility? Setting aside the “lighthearted†side of this “Rostocker Debate,†(12...

This paper studies the effects of China's one-child policy. Using a calibrated general-equilibrium model, a benchmark with a fertility constraint in place is compared to a counterfactual experiment without the fertility constraint. The results indicate that the implementation of the one-child...