World Development Report 1984

developing-country creditworthiness, thus in- slow growth, many millions of poor people will by
creasing the developing countries' capacity to definition get poorer. Moreover, lower GDP
obtain and service additional capital flows. In growth makes it more difficult for countries to
short, trade liberalization, enlarged flows of exter- finance programs-in education and family plannal
finance, and improved economic policies in all ning, for example-that reduce population
countries are mutually reinforcing actions in sup- growth. Thus short-run difficulties have long-run
port of restoring the growth momentum of devel- consequences.
oping countries. Important as these simple facts are, they do not
begin to capture the links between population
The links with population growth and economic development. Understanding
those links requires much more than the mere
Modest growth in the GDP of industrial countries counting of heads. It requires consideration of
means modest growth in their per capita incomes. education, health, employment, incomes, culture,
For the developing countries there is no such easy and personal beliefs-aspects of everyday life that
equation. Their populations are growing by 2 per- explain why parents choose to have a particular
cent a year, in many countries by much more. GDP number of children and what their choices add up
growth of 2 percent or so is merely a preliminary to. Part II of this Report is about population
step before they can start to improve their per cap- change in developing countries. As will soon
ita incomes. Governments throughout the devel- become apparent, it is also about development in
oping world cannot ignore the literal sense in its widest sense. It is affected by the macroecowhich
population growth affects the economic per- nomic perspective of Part I, and it gives that performance
that really matters-the average incomes spective richer meaning.
of their people. If the world is to have ten years of
50