A Review of Population and Economic Growth Nexus in Ethiopia

Abstract

The issue of population growth and economic growth discourse receives the attention of many scholars over time. The first segment of this review examines some of the introductory issues related to the nature of population growth and economic dynamics, the next section presents some of the basic theoretical and empirical arguments on the nexus between the two, as a result, the reviewer investigated that there is no common consensus between whether population growth positively affects economic growth or the other way round, however, in most cases raped population growth negatively and significantly affects economic growth in least developing countries due to lack of technological progress, low education undermines human capital and then productivity at the margin, cultural rigidity,  socio-economic inequalities, and lack of well –regulated capital markets,  and external dominance are the most common problems, on the other hand other researchers and theoretical arguments revealed the positive impact of population on the economy. Therefore, the mere argument of the impact of population growth on economic growth is a misleading concept, unless there is a separate analyses or consideration of other issues which are internal and external to the problem. Accordingly, the issue of population growth should be included in the process of development planning, which is endogenous to the growth process.

Keywords: population growth, Malthusian theory, revisionist view , Vector Error Correction, age structure.

DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-11-03

Publication date:June 30^th 2021