Introduction
It is easy to find literature predicting evil consequences to rapid population growth, but much more difficult to find literature supporting the opposite conclusion. Here are some ways to find "pro" arguments on the topic. There is also a list of sources, based on the BI131 handout.
Julian Simon
The person most associated with the positive position on population growth is Julian L. Simon. In addition to books in the library catalog, there are articles by and about Simon in library databases (see below), a page of full-text articles and books by Julian Simon on the Internet at http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/.
Searching for periodical Articles:
Opposing Viewpoints in Context
An online database called Opposing Viewpoints in Context covers controversial issues, and has content from magazines, newspapers, journals, and from books such as those in the Opposing Viewpoints Series, the Current Controversies Series and others. It is an excellent place to look for views on population growth. Try typing "Overpopulation" in the search space. Look at the "Viewpoints" in the results to find opinions.
The Gale databases Academic OneFile and General OneFile also havemany pertinent articles on population. There's more than one way to approach finding them. All methods will require you to do some sifting through the resulting list of citations to find the ones relevant to an optimistic assessment of population growth. Note: When you see the full text or PDF icons in the link beneath the article citation in the database, you can view, print, download, or e-mail the article.
A keyword search for Julian Simon or Julian L. Simon will yield many articles discussing his theories and related ones.
Combining terms is another option for finding articles. You can combine terms such as those below on different lines of the search.
| Key word | With key word: |
| Population | economic aspects, econometric models, environmental aspects |
| Demographic transition | none |
| Population forecasting | none |
| Population policy | demographic change |
Whatever search strategy you choose, you will have to pick through the resulting list to find articles that support the "pro" position. Look for phrases like "defusing the population bomb," or "the more, the merrier," which suggest a less negative position; or look for words or phrases that suggest going against the general opinion, such as "misconceptions" or "reconsidered."
Here is an explanation of some words you may see in article titles:
- Cairo
- The United Nations' International Conference on Population and Development, 1994, held in Cairo, Egypt. There was also a followup conference to this original one held in July, 1999 in New York.
- Cornucopian
- A word used to describe the optimistic views of Julian Simon and others, chiefly by their detractors.
- Demographic transition
- A change from from high rates of birth and death to low ones, as societies become modern. Some demographers (population experts) believe this change will take place worldwide.
- Malthusian
- Pertaining to the theories of 18th-century economist Thomas Malthus, who believed that population will inevitably increase faster than food supplies, and that when this happens, starvation, war, and disease will kill off the suplus population.
- Revisionist
- See "Cornucopian."
Searching for Books
Books may be found in the CCRLS library catalog. You may do a Subject search on Population, or you can use combinations of key words such as those shown above.
Resources For Population Debate: Positive Population Growth
This section is intended to supplement the instructional handout listing articles with a "pro" position on population growth. Many of the materials in this list appear on the BI131 class handout.
The list is in arranged sections by type of material. Magazine and journal articles are first, followed by books.
Periodical Articles
The following articles are available electronically on the library's databases, or in print at the Chemeketa library, or both. If you are on a computer connected to Chemeketa's network, clicking on a highlighted title will take you directly to the article.
If you are viewing this page on a computer not connected to Chemeketa's network, you will be prompted to enter your My Chemeketa username and password to access the article.
Abernethy, V. (1994, December). Optimism and overpopulation. Atlantic Monthly, 274, 84 (5 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile.
Abernethy, V. (2004, September/October). Not tonight, sweetie; no energy. World Watch, 17, 26-30. Retrieved November 28, 2005, from General OneFile databases. N.B. This article is listed under the title, "Population and its discontents" in the BI131 handout.
Angus, I. & Butler, S. (2012). Limiting immigration to control population growth will not protect the environment. In D. M. Haugen & S. Musser (Eds.), Opposing Viewpoints: Population. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Should Climate Activists Support Limits on Immigration?, Socialist Voice, 2010, January 24) Retrieved July 26, 2012, from Opposing Viewpoints in Context database.
Apocalypse not. (2005, March). Geographical, 77, 52-53. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database
Ayres, R. (2004, September/October). The economic conundrum of an aging population. World Watch, 17, 45-49. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General Onefile. N.B. This article is listed under the title, "Population and its discontents" in the BI131 handout.
Barrett, G.W. & Odum, E.P. (2000). The twenty-first century: The world at carrying capacity. Bioscience, 50, 363 (6 p.). Retrieved November 28, 2005, from General OneFile.
Bauer, P. T. (1998, Summer). Population growth: Disaster or blessing? Independent Review, 3, 67 (10 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile.
Becker, G.S., Glasier, E.L., & Murphy, K.M. (1999, May). Population and Economic
Growth. American Economic Review, 89, 145 (5 p.). Retrieved July 26,
2012, from JSTOR database
Berreby, D. (1990, April). The numbers game. Discover 11, 42 (6 p.).
Bloom, D. (2006, September). Booms, busts, and echoes: how the biggest demographic upheaval in history is affecting global development. Finance & Development 43, 8-13.
Bongaarts, J. (1998). Demographic consequences of declining fertility. Science 282, 419, (2 p.) Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Bongaarts, J. (2009). Human population growth and the demographic transition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 364, 2985–2990. DOI:10.1098/rstb.2009.0137
Bryant, J. (2007). Theories of fertility decline and the evidence from development indicators. Population and Development Review, 33, 101-127. Retrieved July 25, 2012, from JSTOR.
Cervellati, M. & Sunde, U. (2005). Human capital formation, life expectancy, and the process of development. American Economic Review 95, 1653-1672. Retrieved July 26, 2012, from JSTOR database
Cheeseman, A. (2012). Discussions of overpopulation often lead to racist and elitist solutions. In D. M. Haugen & S. Musser (Eds.), Opposing viewpoints: Population. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Overpopulation: A racist myth, Socialist Alternative, 2007) Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints in Context database
Cohen, J.E. (1996, April). Ten myths of population. Discover 17, 42. (5 p.).
Cohen, J.E. (2003). Human population: The next half century. Science 302, 1172-1175. Retrieved November 28, 2005, from General OneFile database.
Cohen, J.E. (2006, June). Why have children?. Commentary 121, 44-49. Retrieved October 31, 2006, from General OneFile database
Does population matter? (2002, December 7). Does population matter? Economist 365, 74. Retrieved September 24, 2003, from General OneFile database.
Easterbrook, G. (1999, October 11). Reproductivity. New Republic 221, 22 (4 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from LexisNexis Academic database.
Eberstadt, N. (2010, November-December). The demographic future: what population growth--and decline--means for the global economy/ Foreign Affairs 89, p. 54.
Eberstadt, N. (2006, Winter). Doom and demography. Wilson Quarterly, 30, 27-31. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Eberstadt, N. (2005, Spring). Rethinking the population problem. Public Interest, Issue 159, 139-151. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Eberstadt, N. (2000, December). We've Lots of Room for People. American Enterprise 11, 48 (2 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Eberstadt, N. (2000, First Quarter). World depopulation: Last one out, turn out
the lights. Milliken Institute Review, 36-48. Retrieved November 28, 2000, from
the World Wide Web:
http://www.milkeninstitute.org/publications/review/2000_3/mir5_30_depop.pdf
Feeney, G. (1994, December 2). Fertility decline in East Asia. Science 266, 1518 (6 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009 from General OneFile database.
Galor, O. & Weil, D.N. (1999). From Malthusian stagnation to modern growth. American Economic Review, 89, 150-4. Retrieved July 26, 2012, from JSTOR database
Galor, O. & Weil, D.N. (September 2000). Population, technology, and growth: From Malthusian stagnation to the demographic transition and beyond. American Economic Review, 90, 806-828 Retrieved July 26, 2012, from JSTOR database.
Greenwood, J. & Seshadri, A. (2002). The U.S. demographic transition. American Economic Review 92, 153-159. Retrieved July 26, 2012, from JSTOR database
Hansen, G.D., & Prescott, E.C. (2002). Malthus to Solow. American Economic Review, 92, 1205-1217. Retrieved July 26, 2012, from JSTOR database
Horiuchi, S. (1992). Stagnation in the decline of the world population growth rate during the 1980s. Science 257, 761 (5 p.).
Hyde, H. A. (1997, June). Slow death in the Great Plains. Atlantic Monthly, 279, 42 (3 p.). October 28, 2005, from General OneFile database
Kramer, S. P. (2012). Baby gap: how to boost birthrates and avoid demographic decline. Foreign Affairs, 91, 2. Retrieved July 30, 2012, from General OneFile
Lambert, T. (1995, January). What they missed in Cairo: Defusing the population bomb. USA Today Magazine 123, 33.(3 p.) Retrieved November 21, 2000, from General OneFile database
Landsburg, S. E. (1995, May 22). The more, the merrier. Forbes 155, 166.
Lee, R. & Mason, A. (2006, September). What is the demographic dividend? Finance & Development 43, 16-17
Last, J.W. (2012, November 14) Come on in, the Earth Is Fine; With its 7 billionth person stunt, the U.N. boosts the overpopulation hysteria. The Weekly Standard 17. Retrieved July 26, 2012, from General OneFile
Lomborg, B. (2002, December 21). How healthy is the world? [Electronic version] BMJ: British Medical Journal 32, 1461-1466. Also available on PubMed Central.
Longman, P. (2004, May 31). Everywhere, even in Africa, the world is running out of children. New Statesman, 133, 27-29. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from enral Onefile database
Longman, P. (2004, May). The Global Baby Bust. Foreign Affairs, 83, 64 (16 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Longman, P. (2004, April 19). Which nations will go forth and multiply? Fortune 149,
60 (2 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from Academic OneFile database.
Mandel, M. (2004, September 13). Productivity trumps demographics. Business
Week Online. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/sep2004/nf20040913_4396_db084.htm
Mandel, M.J. (2005, January 31). Productivity can make up the gap. Business Week, 48.
Retrieved November 9, 2009, from
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_05/b3918035.htm
McKibben, B. (1998, May). A special moment in history. Atlantic Monthly, 281, 55. Retrieved November 28, 2005, from General OneFile database.
McKibben, B. (1999, November/December). Taking the pulse of the planet.
Audubon 101, 104-110. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from
http://archive.audubonmagazine.org/population.html
McNeil Jr., Donald G. (2004, August 29). Demographic 'Bomb' May Only Go 'Pop!'. New York Times 153, Section 4, p. 1. Retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database.
Moffett, G. (1994, Summer). The population question revisited. Wilson Quarterly 18, 54 (24 p.) Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Moore, S. (1998, March 9). Julian Simon, RIP. National Review 50, 22. (2 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Moore, S. (1999, October 25). Body Count. National Review 51, 45 (5 p.). Retrieved November 22, 2000, from General Onefile database.
Moore, S. (2003, August). Julian the Great. American Spectator 36, 53 (3 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from LexisNexis Academic database.
Nierenberg, D. (2004, September/October). The population story ... so far. World Watch 17, 14-17. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database. N.B. This is listed under the title, "Population and its discontents" in the BI131 handout.
Olshansky, S. J. & Carnes, B. A. (1993, April). The aging of the human species. Scientific
American 268, 46 (7 p.).
Paarlberg, R. (2008, June 27). The real food crisis. Chronicle of Higher Education 54, 12. Retrieved July 25, 2012, from General Onefile.
Pearce, F. (2012). Overconsumption, not overpopulation, is a threat to the environment. In D. M. Haugen & S. Musser (Eds.), Opposing Viewpoints: Population. Detroit: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Consumption dwarfs population as main environmental threat, Yale Environment 360, 2009) Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints in Context database.
Pearce, F. (1999, December). Counting Down. World Press Review 46, 13 2 p.).
Piel, G. (1994, March 21). Defusing the 'Population Bomb.' Nation 258, 376-380. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General Onefile.
The population panic. (2010, January). New Internationalist 429, 5-8. Retrieved July 26, 2012, from General Onefile
Population Problem Exaggerated, Critics Say. (2003, June 20). Issues & Controversies On File. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from Issues & Controversies@FACTS.com.
Riche, M. (2004, September/October). Low fertility and sustainability. World Watch 17, 45-49. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database. N.B. This is listed under the title, "Population and its discontents" in the BI131 handout.
Robey, B. & Rutstein, S. O. (1993, December). The fertility decline in developing
countries. Scientific American 269, 60, (8 p.).
Roney, S. (2001, December 17). Why (apart from self-interest) does the UN cry alarm about 'overpopulation'?. Report/Newsmagazine 28 (Natl. Edition), 46. Retrieved September 29, 2004, from General OneFile database.
Rubenstein, E. (1990, December 17). The more the merrier. National Review, 14. Retrieved
November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Simon, J. (1994, April). More people, greater wealth, more resources, healthier
environment. Economic Affairs, (Article 3.
While not available in its journal form, Simon's manuscript is available at:
http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Articles/POPENVI2.txt.
Articles by Julian Simon on the Julian Simon site at http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Articles/.
Simon, J. (1995, December 24). Population growth is our greatest triumph. Popular
University (4 p.)
This is available in the form of Simon's manuscript at
http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Articles/POPUNENV.txt
Simon, J. L. (1996, Febrauary). The state of humanity: Steadily improving. Current 380, p. 8-11.
Simon, J. L (1997, March/April). The global environment: megaproblem or not?. Futurist, 31, 17 (2 p.) Retrieved November 21, 2000, from General OneFile database
Singer, M. (1999, August). The population surprise. Atlantic Monthly, 284 22 (3 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, fromThe following three articles are listed under the single title: "Are people the problem?" in the reading list:
Stafford, T. (1994, October 3). The bet. Christianity Today 38, 46-52. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Stafford, T. (1994, October 3). India: A success story. Christianity Today 38, 53-55. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Stafford, T. (1994, October 3). Thus saith the Lord. Christianity Today 38, 56-60. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Trends Halting Population Growth. (2004, September). Futurist, 38, 15 (2 p.). Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
The truth about the environment. (2001, August 4). Economist, 360. Retrieved November 9, 2009, from General OneFile database.
Wattenberg, B. (2005, January/February). Never mind the population explosion. American Enterprise, 16, 28-31. Retrieved February 22, 2006, from EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier database (Article Number 16845740).
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Books
The following books are listed in the CCRLS catalog as being at Chemeketa or available for request from another CCRLS location. (See Requesting Materials for instructions on how to do this.) Some are available on the World Wide Web, as indicated:
Bloom, D.E., Canning, D. & Sevilla, J. (2003). The Demographic Dividend: A New Perspective on the Economic Consequences of Population Change. Santa Monica: Rand. Retrieved September 24, 2003, from the World Wide Web at http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1274/index.html
Cohen, J.E. (1995). How many people can the earth support? New York: Norton.
Easterlin, R.A. (1996). Growth triumphant: The twenty-first century in historical perspective. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.
Egendorf, L. (Ed.). (2005). The environment: Opposing viewpoints. Detroit: Greenhaven.
Gerdes, L.I. (Ed.). (2009). The environment. Detroit: Greenhaven. Ross B. Emmett's Population does not threaten the environment, a chapter from this book, is online in the Opposing Viewpoints In Context database.
Grant, L. (1996). Juggernaut: Growth on a finite planet. Santa Ana, CA: Seven Locks Press.
Harrison, P. & Pearce, F. (2000). AAAS atlas of population & environment. Berkeley, CA : University of California Press.
Hohm, C.F. & Jones, L.J. (Eds.). (2000). Population: Opposing viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.
Kahn, H., Brown, W., & Martel, L. (1976). The next 200 years : a scenario for America and the world. New York: Morrow.
Lomborg, B. (2001). The skeptical environmentalist: measuring the real state of the world. New York: Cambridge.
Longman, P. (2004). The empty cradle: How falling birthrates threaten world prosperity and what to do about it. New York: Basic Books, 2004.
Markley, O.W. & McCuan, W.R. (Eds.). (1996). 21st century Earth: Opposing viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.
Meyers, N. & Simon, J. (1994). Scarcity or abundance?. New York: Norton
This book is available in manuscript form at
http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Norton/.
Simon, J.L. (1996). The ultimate resource 2. Princeton: Princeton University
Press.
This book is online in manuscript form at:
http://www.juliansimon.org/writings/Ultimate_Resource/
Simon, J.L. (Ed.). (1995). The state of humanity. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell in association with the Cato Institute.
Simon, J.L. & Kahn, H. (Eds.). (1984). The Resourceful earth: a response to Global 2000. New York: B. Blackwell, 1984.
Wattenberg, B.J. (2004). Fewer: How the new demography of depopulation will shape our future. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee.
Weber, J.A. (1977). Grow or die!. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House.
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The following books are not available in the CCRLS system, but may be requested through Summit on interlibrary loan. (See About Summit for more information.)
Bailey, R. (1993). Ecoscam: The false prophets of ecological Apocalpyse. New York:
St. Martin's Press.
Cassen, R., et al. (1994). Population and development: Old debates, new conclusions.
New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Press.
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Address of this page: http://library.chemeketa.edu/instruction/handouts/BI131.php
Updated: 30 Jul. 2012
