Making the case that population growth does not hinder economic
progress and that it eventually raises standards of living, Julian
Simon became one of the most controversial figures in economics
during the past decade. This book gathers a set of
articles--theoretical, empirical, and policy analyses--written over
the past twenty years, which examine the effects of population
increase on various aspects of economic development in
less-developed economies. The studies show that within a century,
or even a quarter of a century, the positive benefits of additional
people counterbalance the short-run costs. The process is as
follows: increased numbers of consumers, and the resultant increase
of total income, expand the demand for raw materials and finished
products. The resulting actual and expected shortages force up
prices of the natural resources. The increased prices trigger the
search for new ways to satisfy the demand, and sooner or later new
sources and innovative substitutes are found. These new discoveries
lead to cheaper natural resources than existed before this process
began, leaving humanity better off than if the shortages had not
appeared.
Originally published in 1992.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand
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