Comments on: The Population-Poverty Trap http://www.deeshaa.org/2004/06/22/the-population-poverty-trap/ Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:41:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Suhit Anantula http://www.deeshaa.org/2004/06/22/the-population-poverty-trap/comment-page-1/#comment-257 Suhit Anantula Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://home.blogstreet.com/2004/06/22/148#comment-257 Atanu: Shyamal Majumdar in the Business-Satndard writes about a International Labour Office (ILO) study on the costs and benefits of eliminating child labour. http://www.business-standard.com/today/story.asp?Menu=26&story=34227 The average benefit to costs ratio is 7 to 1. Their idea is to replicate the "Bolsa Escola programme in Brazil" which would transfer up to 80 per cent of the average value of a child’s labour to poor households. The study extrapolates the same over a 20 year period. Though the target was child labour for this study, the program benefits can help in the increase in basic universal education and possible decrease in the population growth rate. Suhit Atanu:

Shyamal Majumdar in the Business-Satndard writes about a International Labour Office (ILO) study on the costs and benefits of eliminating child labour.

http://www.business-standard.com/today/story.asp?Menu=26&story=34227

The average benefit to costs ratio is 7 to 1. Their idea is to replicate the “Bolsa Escola programme in Brazil” which would transfer up to 80 per cent of the average value of a child’s labour to poor households. The study extrapolates the same over a 20 year period.

Though the target was child labour for this study, the program benefits can help in the increase in basic universal education and possible decrease in the population growth rate.

Suhit

]]> By: Arun Anantharaman http://www.deeshaa.org/2004/06/22/the-population-poverty-trap/comment-page-1/#comment-258 Arun Anantharaman Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://home.blogstreet.com/2004/06/22/148#comment-258 You say <i>...for the poor, the need for children transcends the need for children as an end in themselves. To them, children are productive assets. Where capital is relatively scarce, human labor is the substitute. Labor is required for gathering water, fuel, food production, caring for livestock and other household needs. Children provide that labor required. Another compulsion that the poor face is the need to have children for old-age security. Lacking any publicly funded social security net, poor people over-insure in terms of having more children than is socially optimal. </i> IMHO, that is a flawed argument. I don't believe the poor have more children with the intention of using them as productive assets or for old age social security. That their children serve those purposes is simply an unfortunate consequence of the poverty. Easier access to credit is certainly necessary - there is no disputing that. However the population problem is not a consequence of the lack of access to credit. The cause for that lies in your points 2 and 3 - Lack of female empowerment, and relatively poor education levels. You say …for the poor, the need for children transcends the need for children as an end in themselves. To them, children are productive assets. Where capital is relatively scarce, human labor is the substitute. Labor is required for gathering water, fuel, food production, caring for livestock and other household needs. Children provide that labor required.

Another compulsion that the poor face is the need to have children for old-age security. Lacking any publicly funded social security net, poor people over-insure in terms of having more children than is socially optimal.

IMHO, that is a flawed argument. I don’t believe the poor have more children with the intention of using them as productive assets or for old age social security. That their children serve those purposes is simply an unfortunate consequence of the poverty.

Easier access to credit is certainly necessary – there is no disputing that. However the population problem is not a consequence of the lack of access to credit. The cause for that lies in your points 2 and 3 – Lack of female empowerment, and relatively poor education levels.

]]> By: Niket http://www.deeshaa.org/2004/06/22/the-population-poverty-trap/comment-page-1/#comment-259 Niket Unknown, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://home.blogstreet.com/2004/06/22/148#comment-259 I agree with Arun's points. The main issues are female empowerment and education. The poorer sections of the Indian society, especially the "BIMARU," have gotten into this vicious circle of poverty-illitracy-high fertility-(social) injustice. The appropriate cause-effect relationship is unclear. Its like a wheel; you may consider any of the above issue as a cause and you will have data to support that the others are its effects. <i>Is gutthi ko sulzane me</i> its required to find the loose end of the thread----the cause---and target it. Your opinion is that the population growth is the cause, my belief is that its a symptom. [BTW, why doesn't your "Remember Info" work? I have cookies enabled, and it works on other blogs.] I agree with Arun’s points. The main issues are female empowerment and education. The poorer sections of the Indian society, especially the “BIMARU,” have gotten into this vicious circle of poverty-illitracy-high fertility-(social) injustice. The appropriate cause-effect relationship is unclear. Its like a wheel; you may consider any of the above issue as a cause and you will have data to support that the others are its effects. Is gutthi ko sulzane me its required to find the loose end of the thread—-the cause—and target it.

Your opinion is that the population growth is the cause, my belief is that its a symptom.

[BTW, why doesn't your "Remember Info" work? I have cookies enabled, and it works on other blogs.]

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