In short, expanded efforts to make jobs, education, and health more broadly available to poverty groups in general and women in particular will not only contribute to their economic and psychic well-being (i.e., to their development) but also contribute substantially to their motivation for smaller families (i.e., their freedom to choose), which is vital to reducing population growth rates. Where such motivation exists, well-executed family-planning programs can then be an effective tool.9 But before discussing policy issues and what government might or might not do, we should point out that while
there seems to be considerable agreement regarding the determinants or causes of population growth, substantial disagreement and controversy remain regarding its consequences.