some books on demographics

[Rakesh Bhandari <rakeshb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Dilemmas of Laissez-Faire Population Policy in Capitalist
Societies : When the Invisible Hand Controls Reproduction
by Marc Linder (Author)



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Editorial Reviews

Book Description
The economic and sociopsychological foundations of the decentralized
decisions involved in the production of new labor power, human
reproduction, have never been adequately understood. The consequences
for the labor markets of the laissez-faire policies of capitalist
societies toward human reproduction are discussed from historical,
economic, social, political, demographic, and legal perspectives. The
extent to which the production of children causes or exacerbates
poverty for the producers of the children is discussed, along with
the question of how capitalism can rely on a labor force produced by
reproductive whim.

From the Publisher
This intriguing compilation of beliefs regarding the relationship
between population and poverty includes exchanges on such questions
as whether poverty causes large families or large families cause
poverty; whether or not there is an optimum population size for a
nation; and whether social thinkers, including Marx and Malthus, have
actually formulated coherent theories regarding the role of
reproduction in the economic system....This volume is very useful as
a source regarding how various prominent social theorists have
addressed population issues.

About the Author
MARC LINDER is Professor at the University of Iowa, specializing in labor law.


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A Question of Numbers: High Migration, Low Fertility, and the
Politics of National Identity
by Michael S. Teitelbaum, J. M. Winter


Product Details

    * Hardcover: 304 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.00 x 9.50 x 6.50
    * Publisher: Hill & Wang Pub; (June 1998)
    * ASIN: 0809077817
    * Amazon.com Sales Rank: 274,318



Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Much has been written about the dangers of global overpopulation and
its potentially catastrophic ramifications on health and the
environment. In A Question of Numbers, Michael Teitelbaum and Jay
Winter concentrate on the other end of this equation: the fear of
population decline. Focusing on the United States, Canada, Germany,
France, Britain, Yugoslavia, Russia, and Romania between the years
1965 and 1995, the authors look at how a mix of low fertility rates
and a steady influx of immigrants have affected each country's
national identity. When political upheaval and internal demographic
shifts occur in tandem with increased immigration, the
transformations can be both explosive and permanent. The results
range from the backlash in the U.S. (particularly toward incoming
Mexicans) that fueled new state laws denying immigrants health and
welfare benefits to the horrific examples of "ethnic cleansing" in
the ravaged Balkans. Though each nation examined here is has
experienced a unique set of problems and circumstances, enough
parallels exist to give the authors' ideas a global relevance.

Though a serious and thoughtful book, A Question of Numbers is not a
dry read. The authors rely more heavily on historical and political
anecdotes than charts and statistics, and they strive for clear and
impartial analysis of a subject often obscured by self-serving
politicians and alarmists.


The New York Times Book Review, Jack A. Goldstone
The message that pervades this book is that population numbers,
though important, are often less significant than the interpretation
given to those numbers, especially by ambitious politicians.