MPIDR Working Paper
Developing country growth collapse revisited: demographic influences and regional differences
Liddle, B.
MPIDR Working Paper WP-2003-007, 28 pages.
Rostock, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (February 2003)
Abstract
This paper bridges two related, but up to now, unconnected literatures: economic growth stability and population-economic growth. The paper is different from previous population-economic growth analyses by focusing on instability of economic growth in developing countries. This study contributes to a previous paper on the developing country growth collapse by adding important demographic variables. The paper provides an explanation for “new” negative correlations of population and economic growth: because 1960s were a relatively smooth time for economic growth, youth dependency did not seem important; however, during turbulent 1970s and 1980s, countries with falling dependency burdens weathered economic shocks better.
Keywords: demographic transition, developing countries, economic growth, population growth