population.”
3
Economic growth rates in China, according to the Asian Development
Bank’s Country Economic Review (CER) done in 2002, have featured in the 7-8% per
annum range, which has led to an unprecedented rise in the standard of living for millions
of Chinese.4
India’s CER published a steady rise to around 6% annual growth for 2001.5
While this outstanding growth has brought enormous benefit to citi2ens of both countries,
India and China have fallen into the “Malthusian Population Trap.”
6 When population is
low the standard of living is higher but, “When population si2e is large, the standard of
living will be low, and population will be reduced by either the ‘preventive check’
(intentional reduction of fertility) or by the ‘positive check’ (malnutrition, disease, and
famine).”
7
The “preventative” check of which Malthus spoke, the intentional reduction of
fertility, is commonly seen as one of the keys to subsiding population growth for the
future. There are several economic factors that are linked to fertility rates, such as
technological advancement and increased levels of education. In developing countries
children are often seen as an economic asset, a tool to help increase agricultural
production and also to ensure that a caregiver exists when parents get older. “Demand or
need for large numbers of children is driven down by improvements in living standards
and child survival and by the moderni2ation of economies.”
8
The movement away from
agricultural production and into more modern industries in the manufacturing and
services sectors negates the necessity to have large numbers of children. In examining the
employment construct of the Chinese versus the Indian work force, one will notice that
the Chinese economy is the more modern of the two. Using 2003 estimates, 49.1% of
Chinese were employed in the primary sector, with 21.6% working in the secondary and
29.3% in the tertiary sectors.9 Comparably, in India the primary sector is responsible for
60% of employment, with the secondary and tertiary sectors accounting for 12% and 28%
of employment, respectively.10 The large agricultural presence in the Indian economy
partially explains why higher fertility rates pervade the population, due to needing
children to help with family agricultural plots.