Deck 5: Population Theories and Dynamics

Question 1

In writing the first edition (1798) of his now famous "Essay on the Principle of Population," which of the following two writers was Thomas Malthus reacting to?

A) Marquis de Condorcet and David Ricardo
B) John Maynard Keynes and Alfred Marshall
C) William Godwin and Marquis de Condorcet
D) Robert Wallace and David Ricardo

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Although recognized as an important contribution, Malthus's Essay on Population has also been criticized. Which of the following has not been a criticism of this Essay?

A) Too much emphasis on the limitation of the supply of land.
B) Too much emphasis on the effectiveness of birth control technology.
C) Its contention that population grows geometrically and food production grows arithmetically.
D) Its neglect of European emigration.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Who thought that if society could be reorganized in a more equitable (that is, socialist) way, then population problems would disappear.

A) Paul Ehrlich
B) Kingsley Davis
C) Mother Theresa
D) Karl Marx

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The demographic transition is the process of moving from ____________ to ______________.

A) High birth and high death rates/low death and low birth rates
B) low birth and low death rates/ high birth and high death rates
C) high birth and low death rates/ high birth and high death rates
D) incipient decline/ high growth potential

Question 5

Marx disagreed with Malthus on all except which of the following?

A) The poor are at fault for their own poverty
B) Preventing birth is immoral
C) Welfare perpetuates misery
D) Why and how populations grow.

Question 6

This nineteenth century philosopher believed that scientific progress would enable the food supply to grow far beyond the capacity of his day.

A) Thomas Malthus
B) Marquis de Cordorcet
C) William Godwin
D) Karl Marx.

Question 7

The difference between the Malthusians and the Neo-Malthusians is that

A) The Neo-Malthusians believe in evolution.
B) The Neo-Malthusians substituted birth control for moral restraint.
C) The Neo-Malthusians were happier people than the Malthusians.
D) The Neo-Malthusians did not believe in God as did Reverend Thomas Malthus.

Question 8

The most famous Neo-Malthusian is

A) Barak Obama
B) Karl Marx
C) Marquis de Condorcet
D) Paul Ehrlich

Question 9

According to Thomas Malthus,

A) People have a powerful instinct to reproduce.
B) Poverty is a natural consequence of population growth.
C) As food supply increases, people have more children (labor) and thus wages are lowered.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 10

According to Paul Ehrlich, the rich and poor alike are dying from the by-products of affluence-what are they?

A) pollution and hunger
B) pollution and ecological disasters
C) hunger and ecological disasters
D) none of the above

Question 11

Noted demographer Kingsley Davis observed that the most powerful incentive for family size limitation is

A) Fear of poverty.
B) Tax benefits.
C) Rising prosperity.
D) Whether prospective parents really like children.

Question 12

Compared to marquis de Cordorcet, Thomas Malthus was

A) A pessimist
B) An optimist
C) A pacifist.
D) A plagiarist

Question 13

Demographic transition theory

A) Emerged from modernization theory
B) Postulated that industrialization weakens traditional institutions.
C) Hypothesized that with urbanization, there was less demand for large families.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above

Question 14

Paul Ehrlich suggested that there are only two solutions to the population problem:

A) The Green Revolution and the birth rate solution.
B) The Green Revolution and the death rate solution.
C) The death rate solution and the birth rate solution.
D) None of the above.

Question 15

Who said that "viewed in the long-run, earth's population has been like a long, thin powder fuse that burns slowly and haltingly until it finally reaches the charge and explodes"?

A) Paul Ehrlich
B) Thomas Malthus
C) Kingsley Davis
D) Karl Marx
E) None of the above

Question 16

Age Sex Pyramids. Which of the following statements is not true?

A) Males are on the left and females are on the right.
B) The age-sex pyramids for most developing countries are shaped like triangles.
C) The age-sex pyramids for most developed countries are shaped like inverted triangles.
D) Age sex pyramids illustrate the potential for population momentum.

Question 17

A youth bulge is the same as a young population.

Question 18

The dependency ratio increases with an aging population.

Question 19

T F Thomas Malthus was important during his lifetime, but his ideas have been largely forgotten.

Question 20

In 2030, there will be two American workers for every Social Security recipient.

Question 21

The United States accepts more immigrants than any other country in the world.

Question 22

Without Malthus, Charles Darwin might not have thought about evolution.

Question 23

In most countries and cultures, sexual practices and fertility adhere to the country's government policy.

Question 24

Emigration has the effect of slowing population growth in the donor country.

Question 25

The European Fertility Project found that lower infant mortality provided the tipping point for lower marital fertility.

Question 26

Malthus blamed the poor for their own poverty.

Question 27

For most of human history, populations were very young.

Question 28

Marx and Engels blamed the poor for their own poverty.

Question 29

Why is Thomas Malthus so important?

Question 30

According to the chapter, the reformulated Demographic Transition Theory provides a home for several of demographic perspectives: Malthusian, Marxist, and Neo-Malthusian. Explain how this theory accommodates each of these perspectives.