Download pdf
What is the Optimal Global Population?
- 1 Phillips Academy
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The question of what constitutes the optimal global population has long been a topic of debate among scholars. Historically, different perspectives, from Plato's ideal city-state size to modern utilitarian approaches, have sought to define this optimum. While economic theories like average and classical utilitarianism suggest that the optimal population maximizes either individual or societal utility, real-world complexities make it challenging to pinpoint a precise number. Factors such as technological progress, resource consumption, and regional disparities further complicate the determination of an optimal population. This paper explores these challenges, emphasizing that the notion of an optimal population is fluid and highly context-dependent. It argues for a more nuanced approach that considers the interplay of diverse factors, rather than attempting to define a single, static figure.
Keywords
Optimal Population, Utilitarianism, Demographic Challenges
[1]. Daher, Hafiz Zafa. "Utilitarianism Theory According to Bentham and Stuart Mill." International Journal for Empirical Education and Research, vol. 25, May 2018, pp. 17-26.
[2]. Dasgupta, Partha. "Regarding Optimum Population." Journal of Political Philosophy, vol. 13, no. 4, 2005, pp. 414-42.
[3]. Greaves, Hilary. "Climate Change and Optimum Population." The Monist, vol. 102, no. 1, 2019, pp. 42-65. JSTOR.
[4]. Lianos, Theodore P., and Anastasia Pseiridis. "Sustainable Welfare and Optimum Population Size." Environment, Development and Sustainability, vol. 18, no. 6, 2016, pp. 1679-99.
[5]. Karra, Mahesh, David Canning, and Joshua Wilde. "The Effect of Fertility Decline on Economic Growth in Africa: A Macrosimulation Model." Population and Development Review, vol. 43, no. S1, 2017, pp. 237-63.
[6]. CIA. "CIA Factbook 2023." The World Factbook. Accessed June 11, 2024.
[7]. Jones, Charles I. "The End of Economic Growth? Unintended Consequences of a Declining Population." American Economic Review, vol. 112, no. 11, 2022, pp. 3489-527.
[8]. Daily, Gretchen C., Anne H. Ehrlich, and Paul R. Ehrlich. "Optimum Human Population Size." Population and Environment, vol. 15, July 1994, pp. 469-75.
[9]. Ehrlich, Paul R., and Anne H. Ehrlich. "The Population Bomb Revisited." The Electronic Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 1, no. 3, 2009, pp. 63-71.
[10]. Lam, David. "Has the World Survived the Population Bomb? A 10-Year Update." Population and Environment, vol. 45, no. 2, 2023.
[11]. Wilmoth, John, Clare Menozzi, Lina Bassarsky, and Danan Gu. "As the World's Population Surpasses 8 Billion, What Are the Implications for Planetary Health and Sustainability?" United Nations. Last modified July 10, 2023. Accessed June 9, 2024.
Cite this article
Yang,A. (2024). What is the Optimal Global Population?. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,129,199-203.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Economic Management and Green Development
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).