Global Population Stabilization Policy and Declining Work-Age Population Threat Global Economic Sustainability

Abstract

Faced with a phenomenal growth of population the world has embarked upon a population stabilization policy that has led the fertility rate to fall and the work-age population for the future to shrink, pushing the world to a serious economic crisis more particularly after 2050 when only a decreasing size of the work-age population will be available to look after an increasing size of dependent population. The paper argues that to maintain a sustainable economic growth and support the associated technological advancements in the future there will be demand for a larger labor force. It notes that the industrialized countries are now managing with the migrant population drawn mostly from the high fertility low income countries. But in the world context this is only a zero-sum game without increasing the stock of world’s total labor force. Therefore world population needs to grow to meet the growing demand for a larger labor force for economic sustainability. It also argues that since the earth’s population carrying capacity largely depends on the technological capability and the life style of the society the world should not be scared of a planned population growth. The paper concludes that in the future the social engineering and technological innovations may give birth to an ethics and environment friendly ‘slim-green’ life style founded on the principle of ‘simple living and high thinking’, which will increase the earth’s population absorption capacity. Along with the issue of increasing earth’s population absorption capacity, the issue of producing more food in the regions where it is needed should be addressed with political will and resolutions of the global community.