DV411 Half Unit
Population and Development: An Analytical Approach
This information is for the 2012/13 session.
Teacher responsible
Professor Tim Dyson CON. H804 Availability
This course is for students taking MSc Population and Development, MSc Development Studies, MSc Development Management, MSc International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies, MSc Environment and Development, MSc Urbanisation and Development, LSE-Sciences Po Double Degree in Urban Policy (MSc Urbanisation and Development stream only), MSc Health, Population and Society, MSc Human Rights MSc Political Economy of Late Development, MPA International Development and MSc Social Research Methods only. It is also available to all other MSc students where regulations and numbers permit. Please note that in case of over-subscription to this course priority will be given to students undertaking the MSc in Population and Development and students from the Department of International Development and its joint degrees (where their regulations permit).
Course content
Using the demographic transition as its framework, the course examines different analytic approaches to the main interrelationships between population change and socio-economic development. It draws on a variety of theoretical and historical experiences to address and explore these interconnections. It aims to provide balance between theoretical understanding, knowledge of empirical evidence and basic causal processes, and implications for policy.
The course begins by providing an overview of the worlds current demographic situation at both the global and the regional levels. It then addresses Malthusian and anti-Malthusian perspectives on the basic relationships linking population growth and economic growth. These contrasting perspectives are considered in the context of both historical and contemporary experience. The course then proceeds to assess demographic transition theories and their relationships to theories and processes of economic development, urbanisation and socio-structural change. Urban growth, migration, and urbanization receive special attention. The implications of population change for issues of employment, savings and investment are considered, as are issues relating to energy, food production and security, carbon emissions and climate change. Contemporary neo-Malthusian arguments, with their environmental components are also considered, as are issues relating to women's empowerment, democratization and population aging. Further details will be provided at the start of the session.
Teaching
10 x one-and-a-half hour lectures and 9 x one-and-a-half hour seminars, Michaelmas Term. 1 x one-and-a-half revision seminar Summer Term.
Formative coursework
Students will be given the opportunity to undertake a 'mock examination' essay. This will be graded and accompanied by written feedback within two weeks of its submission.
Indicative reading
A detailed reading list will be provided. However, relevant readings include: T Dyson Population and Development - The Demographic Transition, Zed Books 2010; T Dyson 'A partial theory of world development: The neglected role of the demographic transition in shaping modern society' in International Journal of Population Geography, 7, 2001; N. Birdsall, A C Kelley and S Sinding (eds) Population Matters: Demographic change, Economic Growth, and Poverty in the Developing World, Oxford University Press 2001; M Livi-Bacci A Concise History of World Population, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford 2001; T Dyson, Population and Food: Global Trends and Future Prospects, Routledge, 1996; R H Cassen (Ed), Population and Development: Old Debates, New Conclusions, Overseas Development Council, Washington DC, 1994; World Bank, Population Change and Economic Development, Washington DC, 1985.
Assessment
A two-hour written examination in the Summer Term (100%). ^
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