1. Population and Global Inequality
Chapter 15
Population and Global Inequality

2. Population by the Numbers
About 2,000 years ago the world’s population was around 300 million
Little changed until the Industrial Revolution
At the onset of the Industrial Revolution population began to grow
first billion; second billion
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Population by the Numbers
Population was rising during the 19th century, but so was the rate of increase
billion; billion; billion; billion
Over the 20th century, the world’s population grew four-fold
2011 – 7 billion
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. Causes of Population Increase
Demography - study of human population
Fertility - incidence of childbearing in a country’s population
One measure of a society’s fertility is the crude birth rate –
Number of live births in a given year for every thousand people in a population
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Demography: Explaining Population Increase
The crude birth rate is seen as a crude indicator of the birth rate
It includes in the calculation the entire population not just women that give birth
Higher the fertility = the faster the growth
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. Demography: Explaining Population Increase
One measure of death is crude death rate
Number of deaths in a given year for every thousand people in a population
Everything being equal: the lower the mortality, the higher the growth
In sum, we are seeing in some parts of the world high fertility with falling mortality
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Demography: Explaining Population Increase
Infant mortality as a measure of a society’s quality of life
Infant mortality rate –
Number of deaths among children under one year of age for each thousand live births
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Demography: Explaining Population Increase
World’s infant mortality rate is 44
U.S. infant mortality rate is 6.1
Low-income countries vary from a high of 131 to a low of 19
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Measuring Population Increase
Natural growth of a society is based on the variables of fertility and mortality
To calculate the doubling time for a nation’s population:
Divide 70 by the growth rate
Another factor behind growth of a nation is immigration
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. The Low-Growth North North America and Western Europe
Zero population growth-
Level of reproduction that maintains population at a steady state
High cost of raising children
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. The Low-Growth North Contraceptives Delayed marriage
Both partners in labor force
High income countries losing population
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

14. The High-Growth South
Population growth is a major problem for poor nations
High birth rates and declining death rates
Account for 80% of the planet’s people
Culture and the status of women
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

15. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

16. The Social Standing of Women
Give a woman more choices about how to live, and she will have fewer children
A woman who has access to schooling and jobs can decide:
When and whether she wants to marry
She will bear children as a matter of choice, not because it is the only option open to her
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

17. Explaining Population Increase: Malthusian Theory
Robert Malthus ( ) –
English economist, clergyman and pioneer demographer
Populations grow in a geometric pattern
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

18. Explaining Population Increase: Malthusian Theory
Food supplies grow in an arithmetic pattern
Population growth would exceed the available supply of food
The result being starvation and war
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

19. A More Recent Approach: Demographic Transition Theory
Thesis linking demographic change to a society’s technological development
Population is affected by four levels of technological development
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

20. A More Recent Approach: Demographic Transition Theory
Stage 1 – Pre-industrial society is associated with high birth & death rates
Very little or no growth
Stage 2 – Early industrial society is assoc-iated with onset of demographic transition
High births and declining deaths
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

21. A More Recent Approach: Demographic Transition Theory
Stage 3 – Mature industrial society is associated with decline in births & deaths
And a slow down in growth
Stage 4 – Postindustrial society is associated with low births and deaths
With little or no growth
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

22. Global Inequality
The world’s income and wealth is unequally divided among nations
The world’s three richest individuals:
Equal the annual economic output of the world’s 34 poorest countries
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

23. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

24. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

25. High-Income Nations Industrial high-tech economies
About 23% of the world’s population or 1.6 billion live in high-income countries
Annual income is at least $13,000 or more
People in these countries earn 75% of the world’s income
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

26. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

27. Middle-Income Nations
Industrialized, but also rural (about 45% of the population are rural)
About 61% of the world’s population or 4.2 billion live in middle-income countries
Income ranges between $2,500 - $10,000
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

28. Low-Income Nations 53 low-income countries Agrarian and rural
About 16% of the world’s population or 1 billion live in low-income countries
Earn only 2% of the world’s income
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

29. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

30. The World’s Poverty Problem
About 1 billion of the world’s population lack enough food
Undernourishment increases the risk of disease
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

31. Relative versus Absolute Poverty
Relative poverty - lacking the resources that most take for granted in a society
Cuts across rich and poor nations
Absolute poverty - lack of resources that are life-threatening
Nutrition; Water; Housing/shelter; Health
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

32. Poverty and Children At least 100 million children in the world:
Live at the extreme edge of economic deprivation
Are in state of poor health; Poor nutrition; Under schooled; Homeless children
Victims of abuse and crime
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

33. Poverty and Women Women are subordinated in many societies
At much higher risk of poverty
Few choices in patriarchal cultures
70% of adults facing poverty are women
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

34. Slavery Global poverty and slavery
According to ASI, Anti-Slavery International some 200 million:
Men, women and children (Almost 3% of the world’s population) are enslaved today
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

35. Slavery Chattel slavery - one person owns another Child slavery –
Desperate poor families send their children out to hustle on the streets to bring in income
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

36. Slavery
Debt Slavery - employers enslave employees through debt bondage
Sweatshops
Servile forms of marriage - young girls married against their will
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

37. Structural-Functional Analysis: The Process of Modernization
Modernization theory-
Model of economic development
Explains global inequality in terms of technological and cultural differences among societies
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

38. W.W. Rostow: The Stages of Modernization
1. Traditional Stage
Past oriented
Lives around families and communities
2. Take-off stage
Break free from tradition
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

39. W.W. Rostow: The Stages of Modernization
3. Drive to technological maturity
Industrial technology and economic growth and
4. High mass consumption
Industrial output is high and the move to mass consumption
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

40. Critical Evaluation
Modernization theory a flawed defense of capitalism
Rich nations often prevent poor nations from developing
Rich nations as the standard for the rest
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

41. Social-Conflict Analysis: The Global Economic System
World system theory –
Model of economic development that explains global inequality in terms of the:
Historical exploitation of poor societies by rich societies
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

42. Social-Conflict Analysis: The Global Economic System
Colonialism - process by which some nations enrich themselves through:
Political and economic control of other countries
Neocolonialism –
Global power relationship by which multinationals exploit poor nations
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

43. Social-Conflict Analysis: The Global Economic System
Immanuel Wallerstein: The Capitalist World Economy
High-income countries
Established colonies and seized riches
Core of the world economy
Low-income countries
Periphery of the world economy
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

44. Social-Conflict Analysis: The Global Economic System
Poor nations support rich nations
Poor nations provide inexpensive labor
Markets for industrial products
Middle-income countries
Semiperiphery economies of the world
Poor nations become dependent on rich nations
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

45. Dependency Theory Poor countries
Have only narrow export-oriented economies
Lack industrial production
Are deeply in debt
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

46. Critical Evaluation Treats wealth as a zero-sum game
Rich nations to blame for global poverty
Blame world capitalism –
Poor as victims with no responsibility for their own situation
Global trade making rich nations richer
U.S. had an $800 billion trade deficit in 2008
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

47. Conservatives: The Power of the Market
Capitalism as a great productive power
Modernization as the solution to global poverty
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

48. Liberals: Government Must Act
Market system is productive, but not the only solution to global poverty
Market system along with governmental help poor nations can move out of poverty
Rich nations have moral obligations to help poor nations; Eliminate exploitation
Give families opportunity to own land
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

49. Radicals: End Global Capitalism
Radical position is consistent with world systems theory
The solution to global poverty
One of global democracy empowering the poor people of the world
© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

50. © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.