Question

Political impact on child growth and development

Answer 1

Political Effects

LEDC's - Government are not able to finance growing population or provide work for them so informal sector becomes dominant

MEDC's - Government forced to charge people more taxes to cover growing costs of an elderly population

Contract between MEDC's and LEDC's

1. Population Growth

In many MEDC’s natural increase is low due to low birth rates and low death ratesIn LEDC’s there has been a massive population explosion due to high birth rates and lower death rates

2. Stage of the DTM
Stage 4/5
Stage 2/3

3. Population Pyramids

The population pyramid of an MEDC would have  a small bottom third, a larger middle and small top third
The population pyramid of an LEDC would have a large bottom third which gradually decreases in size towards the top

Strategies for coping

Examples can be found below of what strategies have been used to cope with population change

MEDC’s

Advertising for workers from other countries to come and work in sparsely populated areas such as the Shetlands (UK example)
Tax incentives for large families to increase birth rates in France
Banning contraceptives
Extending urban areas to encourage people to move away from densely populated cities in the Netherlands

LEDC’s

Indonesian transmigration policy whereby people are offered incentives to move to one of the sparsely populated islands
China’s one child policy whereby each couple are only allowed to have one child per household
Settlements being built away from over populated areas in Brazil

Different policies are developed to control the population that effect the child growth and development
- Population growth management
- birth control programs
- immigration laws