Population trends and the status of population policy in Africa

There is every indication that Africa's population growth will remain well above the world average for the remainder of this decade and probably for the rest of this century. With the exception of the island states and parts of North Africa, fertility levels show little indication of change. This is in part a reflection of little desire for small families, as well as a consequence of limited or even restricted family planning services. Great diversity in attitudes regarding population policy prevails among African governments, ranging from extreme pronatal to committed antinatal. Even with antinatal policies, however, many African states have yet to attain any significant success in depressing their rates of growth. To date, Mauritius can be cited as the only state to have almost achieved the transition from high to low fertility. The consequence of these continuing trends is that Africa will see further increases in its youth dependency ratio. Pressures on infrastructural services will therefore increase, and the problems of generating employment will intensify. While demographic factors are by no means the only ones creating economic stress on the continent, they clearly are contributory. Unlike Asia or parts of Latin America, Africa's problem is less a matter of too many people but rather 1 of excessive growth in too short a time frame. A realistic and effective long-term population policy, therefore, is an immediate need. Several countries including Nigeria (with a pouplation of over 80 million) are experiencing a crude birth rate of 50 or more/1,000. At least 4 countries, including Kenya, are currently doubling their population in 20 years or less. With these current population trends, a demographic transition to low vital rates must assume passage through an even higher growth phase than is currently being experienced because the fall in birth rates tends to occur much later than the fall in death rates. Government population policies and the status of family planning activities are illustrated according to natal sentiments and attitudes. Trends in national vital rates and of population structures in Africa are illustrated.     

A fertility transition in Sub-Saharan Africa?

This paper documents and summarizes data on the recent fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa and reviews the critical theoretical, methodological, and policy issues and controversies that the African situation provokes. After an introduction, African fertility change for the period 1960-94 is described through a discussion of fertility trends and of the proximate determinants of the fertility change. This discussion is illustrated with tables on the total fertility rate for countries of sub-Saharan Africa for the periods 1975-85 and 1986-93, and total fertility rates for countries participating in the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for the periods 0-3 and 4-7 years prior to the survey. Figures show maps of Africa displaying total fertility rates in sub-Saharan Africa for 1975-85 and 1986- 93, and graphs of absolute and percentage change in total fertility rates for DHS countries between periods 0-3 and 4-7 years prior to the survey. The next section deals with theoretical issues such as whether the classic model of demographic transition is applicable to Africa and Jack Caldwell's views that cultural values make Africa different. It is seen that existing theory is of limited value in explaining the recent fertility decline in the region and that the two theories are beginning to converge to some degree. Consideration of methodological issues centers on the limited usefulness of fertility data collected by the large-scale, standardized demographic surveys to aid in the identification of patterns and processes. The discussion of policy issues is concerned with how survey data have been used and interpreted to formulate policy. The paper closes by reviewing the east Asian, South African, and Caribbean models of fertility decline and discussing problems in predicting the nature and extent of future fertility change in sub-Saharan Africa in light of recent findings.     

Demography,destiny and population policies

This article considers the aftermath of the 1994 Cairo Conference on Population and Development and the later Laxon, Sweden meeting of about 40 academic geographers, who addressed the implications of the Plan of Action for national policy. A recent International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) member synthesized conference impact on member nations. Martens from IUSSP offered the critique that the 381 recommendations were philosophically incoherent and poorly integrated and did not distinguish between government as a "doer of things" from government as "organizer and guarantor of a legal-institutional framework for allowing individuals and voluntary groups to seek improvements." This article discusses the apparent gulf between the views of population researchers and that of policy makers. It is reasoned that population policies do matter. The Club of Rome world model confirmed rapid population growth during 1972-90. Population policies in the past emphasized a societal perspective rather than an individual one. Policies impact on individual decision making. Most population geographers emphasize four features of social change. 1) Policy must address suitable measures for easing social, economic, and political tensions that arise in the temporary experience of high population growth. 2) More sensitive models of demographic behavior need to be developed, in order to account for the highly uneven patterns of fertility and mortality. Policy should not focus exclusively on family planning and should take into account the cultural and socioeconomic context. 3) Migration pressures from poor to rich countries have increased. Policy should address international migration. 4) People adapt quickly to new policy measures and apply policies effectively in their own life. Policies fail when the top-down approach does not include adequate research into values and behavior of the persons most affected by policy. These four points were discussed throughout this issue of "Applied Geography."     

Population policy and the Five Year Plans

Population policy and the 5-year plans since 1951 in India are reivewed and evaluated in terms of limiting population growth. The family planning (FP) programs have not had a major impact on people's attitudes, practice of contraceptives, or the average fertility rate. Not enough attention has been paid to the interaction of demographic structure and economic and social development, and the implications for limiting population growth. Vital elements of a population policy are containing population growth, limiting births among the young and reproductive age groups, enhancing employment options for males and females, diversifying the economy, improving literacy and educational standards, improving urban/rural ratios, and balancing male/female ratios. Several approaches to FP programs are possible: long term measures to improve the social, economic, and demographic structure, and short term measures to immediately avert births. Long term approaches recognize the complexity of the problem. Rapid socioeconomic development is the best contraceptive for controlling India's population. A well conceived population education program can help, as will increasing the marriage age, preventing children from entering the labor market, increasing female education levels, providing old age pension and social security and other insurance, and providing maternity benefits for small families. Short term measures may provide temporary or permanent methods of averting births; i.e., contraceptives, sterilization, penalties and rewards for small families. However, it must not be a bureaucratic measure imposed from above. It must be a self generating process. The author suggests that simultaneous long and short term approaches are necessary. Research should be conducted to delineate which measures have the most impact on reducing fertility and policy be formulated in accordance with these answers. Compulsion is required, and government should not hesitate to step in. In rural areas, traditional and modern methods in FP should be tried in order to achieve responsible behavior. The population increases in India were a result of a mortality decline starting in 1921 and a fertility decline starting in 1971. Attention must focus on high fertility areas such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The 7th 5-year plan was important for making FP voluntary and generating an environment for fertility decline, and the 8th should establish FP as a self generating process.     

水资源经济政策CGE 模型及在北京市的应用

水资源经济政策的研究对于解决突出的水问题具有重要意义,本文采用2002 年北京市投入产出表和有关 的水资源公报等数据,通过单列水行业和废污水行业建立了基于一般均衡理论的水资源经济CGE(Computable General Equilibrium)模型和相应的42×53 多部门水资源投入产出表,利用GEMPACK 软件包,对北京市水资源经济 政策进行了模拟和分析。模拟显示,当水价增加10%时,行业产出和销售量变化呈现不同的特点和变动趋势;当水 量增加10%时,造成行业产出的变化和销售量的变动也值得深虑。该成果可为制定和实施水资源政策提供决策参 考及模拟平台。     

1990—2015年中国县市尺度人口收缩的演变特征及影响因素

近年来,区域人口收缩问题在全球范围内引起了广泛关注,并且在中国也日益明显。利用1990年、2000年和2010年人口普查数据以及2015年1%人口抽样调查数据,本文在县市尺度上分析了1990—2000年、2000—2010年和2010—2015年三个时期人口收缩区的空间特征及演化趋势,并定量探讨了其形成与演变的影响因素,主要发现如下：① 人口收缩现象在县市尺度非常明显,三个时期人口收缩区占比均超过20%;② 2000—2010年人口收缩区以大面积扩张为主要特征,东北地区、川黔渝地区、长江中游地区最为明显,而东部地区则主要集中在江苏北部和福建西部等局部范围;③ 2010—2015年人口收缩转缓慢增长成为主要特征,仅东北地区、河南等人口收缩区仍有所扩张;④ 人均GDP和非农就业占比等经济发展水平因素对人口收缩区的形成影响显著,而经济发展速度因素则与人口收缩的演变密切相关;⑤ 除经济因素外,人口自然增长因素对人口收缩区形成及演变的影响均非常显著,且其作用呈增强趋势。     

中国城市房价对生育率的影响——基于长三角地区41个城市的计量分析

房价与人口的关系是人文经济地理学研究的热点领域,本文选取长江三角洲地区作为研究区域,利用区域内41个城市11年（2008—2018年）的数据,分别采用差分GMM模型及LSDVC法,从整体和分组的层面分析城市房价与生育率的关系。整体模拟结果表明,城市房价上涨的速度对于生育率有着显著的负向作用：房价上涨得越快,生育率下降得越快。同时,以房价收入比衡量的居民购房能力对生育率也有着显著的影响,居民购房能力下降得越快,生育率也下降得越快。分组研究的结果表明,不同房价水平的城市,生育率受购房能力影响程度不同,中等房价水平及较低房价水平的城市,其生育率更容易受到购房能力波动的影响。基于以上研究结果,提出严控房价涨幅速度、适当提高购房补贴、提高居民收入等政策建议,以期提高区域内居民整体生育意愿,促进人口增长。     

Marginalisation and demographic change in the semi-arid Karoo, South Africa

Semi-arid areas are often considered to be environmentally and economically marginal, a situation which has been exacerbated by economic change, shifts in agricultural production and land use, and changing state policy. These themes are explored with reference to a semi-arid landscape, namely the Karoo, which covers some 40% of the geographic space of South Africa and is used primarily for extensive livestock farming. Despite long-term decline in agricultural output, the traditional mainstay of the region, and weakening small town economies, the Karoo's population and the economies of its largest service centres are growing. There are, real socio-economic needs and development backlogs, and the situation has been exacerbated by recent political marginalisation. In this study, the small towns of the region are focal points of investigation and provide a lens to investigate the changing demographic and economic dynamics of the Karoo. Most of the region's population lives in these centres which are service, collection, and distribution points for what traditionally has been an agriculture-based regional economy. This paper explores the concept of marginalisation with specific reference to historical, economic, and demographic change.     

The ethics of population control in rural China, 1979-92

This article identifies some issues of importance in understanding China's policy of population control. This article presents evidence of trends in fertility, population policy, family planning, and socioeconomic change; and then discusses the conflict between fertility preferences and policy that is evident from studies of ideal family size and sex ratios. Some issues that are identified as "uncertain" include the extent of spread of family planning service delivery and its associated insurance schemes, local family planning policies and cadre responsibility systems, the demand for children, the demand for female children, the economic and environmental consequences of population growth, the fairness of reproductive restrictions and their application, and the extent of coercion in the later-longer-fewer policy era. It is argued that an ethical framework for analyzing China's population policy should include answers to questions about the harm to welfare from population growth, the government's right to demand voluntary reproductive sacrifice or to impose demographic or reproductive restrictions and punishment, and the government's right to impose coercion. If it is accepted that population growth in China has adverse consequences and its control would be beneficial to all, then it must be determined what the nature of the relationship should be between the state and the individual. The author refers to Walzer's (1983) position that the legitimacy of Chinese state power depends in part on whether political leaders at all levels are competent and not corrupt. The rights and duties of the government and individuals must be understood not just in terms of political legitimacy but also in terms of social justice. Social justice is dependent upon the degree of horizontal and vertical consultation and accountability, utilitarian consequences, and protected spheres of individual judgement. Utilitarian theories justify the one-child policy, while deontological theories support reproductive freedom as an absolute right.     

人口政策变动下曲靖市人口发展趋势分析

人口生育政策变化会对区域未来人口发展产生直接影响,“全面二孩”政策是继“单独二孩”政策之后逐步放宽生育政策的又一重大举措。结合政策变动,筛选政策受众人群进行精准化预测:未来15年,曲靖市20~39岁育龄妇女将净减少3.7万人,其中符合“全面二孩”生育政策且在20~39岁育龄妇女人口规模将缩减近0.7万;结合“全面二孩”政策最终兑现人口的测算,从2016年至2020年间会产生一个“二孩”生育高峰期,过了高峰期之后将渐落并减少至2.23万,较高峰期缩减0.82万人。“全面二孩”政策进一步调整和完善了生育政策,但后期效果不明显,面对“后人口转变”时代的到来,低生育率、老龄化的人口发展新格局,要实现人口与社会经济的协调发展,仍需与时俱进做出入口政策相应调整。     

政策主导下的区域土地利用转型过程与机制——以中国东北地区为例

从构建政策主导下区域土地利用转型解释框架入手,以东北地区为例,探究政策主导下区域土地利用转型机制。结果表明：① 1995—2015年,东北地区经济社会发展可划分为“经济低速增长,城镇化与人口发展停滞期”与“经济波动,城镇化稳定发展,人口转型期”两大阶段。② 伴随经济社会转型,东北地区发生土地利用转型。转型特征主要表现为：在数量上,区域耕地规模持续扩张,但增速放缓,耕地内部水田占比上升;林地与草地规模持续缩减,但下降速度放缓;区域建设用地加速增长,增长主体由农村建设用地转变为城镇建设用地。在空间上,耕地分布重心持续向东北方向移动,林地与未利用地分布重心向西南方向移动,建设用地与草地分布重心呈现显著的转折特征。③ 东北地区土地利用转型是区域内不同土地利用类型在空间上由冲突到协调的持续性重构过程。区域功能定位以及经济现代化与城镇化是导致土地利用转型的核心因素。政策主导下的区域土地利用转型是政策引导下的社会-生态反馈路径与政策影响下的社会-经济变化诱发路径综合作用的结果,两者间存在耦合与拮抗过程。前者决定区域土地利用转型的方向,后者决定区域土地利用转型的速度与强度。     

Localization and characterization of populations vulnerable to climate change: Two case studies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Future climate change potentially can have a strong impact on the African continent. Of special concern are the effects on food security and the restricted adaptive capacity of Africa's poverty stricken population. Targeted policy interventions are, therefore, of vital importance. While there is a broad consensus on selection of climate and agricultural indicators, a coherent spatial representation of the populations' vulnerability is still subject to debate, basically because important drivers at household and institutional level are captured at the coarser (sub)-national level only. This paper aims to address this shortcoming by capitalizing on available spatially explicit information on households, food security institutions and natural resources to identify and characterize vulnerable groups in climate change prone areas of East and West Africa. First, we identify and localize groups with varying degrees of vulnerability, using food security and health indicators from georeferenced household surveys. Second, we characterize these vulnerable groups using statistical techniques that report on the frequency of occurrence of household characteristics, social bonding, remittances and agro-ecological endowments. Third we localize areas where climate change conditions affect production of major staple crops even after a maximum adaptation of crop rotations. Fourth, we characterize the vulnerable groups in the climate change affected areas and compare their profiles with the overall assessment to elucidate whether generic or climate change targeted policies are required. Since climate change will impact predominantly on agricultural production, our analysis focuses on the rural areas. For West Africa, we find that vulnerable groups in areas likely to be affected by climate change do not fundamentally differ from vulnerable groups in the study area in general. However, in East Africa there are remarkable differences between these groups which leads to the conclusion that in this part of Africa, poverty reducing strategies for climate change affected areas should differ from generic ones.     

Singapore in the 1990s. Can population policies reverse the demographic transition?

Singapore experienced an extraordinary demographic transition from a population growth of over 4% per year in the late 1950s to around 1.6% in the 1990s and below replacement fertility since 1986. In 1987 official government policy shifted to measures for increasing fertility. This paper explores whether Singapore's pronatalist policies can reverse the demographic transition. The present policies aim to selectively increase fertility among the well educated. By 1987 the slogan switched from "stop at two" to "have three, if you can afford it." The policy included tax relief for a third child and other measures to encourage a third child. The policies are expected to have a different influence on society according to one's education, income, and family size. The government target is to selectively increase population by 40% over 25 years. Singapore's transition may follow the theory that low fertility is attained in societies where kin relationships are less important than personal educational achievements. The three ethnic groups responded differently to educational and fertility policies. The Chinese acquired the best education and attained the lowest fertility. The Chinese, who comprised 76% of total population in 1986, continued to have low fertility, while increases occurred among the Malays and the Indians. Future trends are considered difficult to predict. A survey conducted in 1992 in Ang Mo Kio among 489 reproductive age respondents revealed that Malays had the earliest marriage and first births before the age of 25 years (75% of Malays and 50% of Indians). The Chinese had their first child at 25 years or older. Without controls for the age of the mother, a strong statistically significant association was found between ethnic group and age at marriage and age at first birth. The relationship was not supported for current fertility. A comparison of women married for 5 years or less and 5 years or more revealed that women in recent marriages showed a greater likelihood of postponing marriage and childbirth for all ethnic groups. Since 1987, third order births as a percentage of all births increased from 21.47% before 1987 to 23.11% during 1987-92, which only suggests the favorable impact of the pronatalist policy. Educational changes are likely to become more influential in affecting choice of family size.     

非洲外商直接投资的时空分异研究

在统计和整理非洲外商直接投资数据资料的基础上,分析了非洲外商直接投资(FD I)在时间序列上的变动特点,引入吸收FD I业绩指数,采用变异系数计算模型,探讨了非洲FD I在空间序列上的差异,并对非洲吸引外商直接投资的前景进行了展望。结果表明,非洲吸收外商直接投资水平在波动中逐步提高,FD I流入量增幅较大,但其占世界FD I流入总额比重一直很低,且有下降趋势;非洲FD I的区域和国别差异均很大,但分布不断向均衡方向发展。     

城市土地利用——交通集成模型的构建与应用（英文）

China is now experiencing rapid urbanization. Powerful tools are required to assess its urban spatial policies before implemented toward a more competitive and sustainable development paradigm. This study develops a Land Use Transport Interaction(LUTI) model to evaluate the impacts of urban land-use policies on urban spatial development. The model consists of four sub-models, i.e., transport, residential location, employment location and real estate rent sub-models. It is then applied to Beijing metropolitan area to forecast the urban activity evolution trend based on the land-use policies between 2009 and 2013. The modeling results show that more and more residents and enterprises in the city choose to agglomerate on outskirts, and new centers gradually emerge to share the services originally delivered by central Beijing. The general trend verifies the objectives of the government plan to develop more sub-centers around Beijing. The proposed activity-based model provides a distinct tool for the urban spatial policy makers in China. Further research is also discussed at the end.     

全面二孩背景下中国省际人口迁移格局预测及城镇化效应

采用第六次中国人口普查数据,基于全面二孩实施背景,预测未来中国与省际城乡人口规模以及省际人口迁移规模;采用2010年人口数据和2020年预测人口数据,从对比视角分析了中国省际人口迁移格局变化及其对城镇化发展的影响。研究发现：① 城乡全面放开二孩政策不会带来区域人口数量的剧烈反弹;② 综合考虑省际人口迁移方向与强度,将中国31个省份划分为4种类型;③ 省际人口迁移促进了城镇化率的提高及省际差异的缩小,对2010~2020年中国城镇化率的增加的贡献占到了30.77%。     

城市土地利用—交通集成模型的构建与应用

中国目前正经历着城市化转型,科学合理的空间政策是城市可持续发展的重要保障,因此开展政策情景实验、辅助空间决策具有重要现实意义。本文构建了土地利用—交通集成模型,模拟城市活动空间分布,称作SDA（Spatial Distribution of Activities）模型。该模型主要包含4个子模型：交通模型、家庭区位模型、经济活动区位模型、房租模型;并以北京市为例模拟土地利用政策对城市空间发展的影响。研究表明,延续过去5年（2009-2013年）房地产开发模式至2030年,则由于周边房地产开发数量较高、房租较低,越来越多的人口和企业将向郊区聚集（增长速度更大）。该趋势与目前疏解北京社会经济活动、缓解交通拥堵的规划目标相一致,模型可以很好地检验土地利用政策情景影响。而“基于活动”的模型被认为是模型发展趋势,因此,本文构建的SDA模型不仅可以检验不同政策对城市空间影响、辅助城市空间决策,也有助于推动LUTI模型的发展及其在国内的应用,丰富和发展国内城市空间模拟分析的研究内容。     

Study of the Population Carrying Capacity of Water and Land in Hainan Province

In recent years, the rapid growth of population in Haikou and Sanya has caused extensive concern about the carrying capacity of Hainan Province. To formulate scientific population and environmental policies, it is necessary to research the relationship between population, carrying capacity and economic growth. In this paper, three indicators, grain production, nutrient composition of agricultural products and water resources, are used to measure carrying capacity quantitatively; the employment elasticity coefficient method is used to set the employment elasticity coefficient and the growth rate of regional GDP to estimate the total population needed to support economic growth; PADIS-INT population forecasting software that has parameters to track total fertility rate and net migration rate is used to predict demographic changes. The results show that, as of 2050, the total population of Hainan Province will not have exceeded the upper limit of the carrying capacity of land and water resources. In general, there is no overpopulation problem in the province, but there may be structural problems related to population, such as a large proportion of elderly people, labor shortages, and a high social dependency ratio. It is suggested that the local government should adopt positive population policies, improve the management of natural resources and the environment, and guide the balanced development of population in the province.     

城市空间增长与人口密度变化之间的关联关系

探究城市空间增长与人口密度变化之间的关联关系是城市可持续发展研究的基础,对制定有效的土地政策、促进城市紧凑发展具有重要意义。选取中国和欧洲23个人口100万以上城市作为研究样本,采用1990年、2000年和2014年3期土地利用数据和人口数据,计算各时段样本城市空间增长速率,建立城市紧凑度指标,并将城市空间增长方式划分为紧凑型、保持型和蔓延型,进一步探讨了样本城市的空间增长特征、人口密度变化特征及两者之间的关系。主要结论为：① 人口密度降低这一现象普遍存在于中国和欧洲城市,中国城市人口密度相对较高且降低速率较快,欧洲城市人口密度相对较低且降低速率较慢;1990—2014年中国城市半径的增长速率明显快于欧洲城市半径的增长速率。城市空间增长速率与人口密度变化速率呈现强负相关关系（Pearson相关系数为-0.693）;② 1990—2000年中欧城市主要以紧凑型方式增长。2000—2014年中国城市主要以蔓延型方式增长,且人口密度随时间下降的速率加快;欧洲城市主要以紧凑型和保持型方式增长,人口密度降低速率减小;③ 紧凑型的空间增长方式并不一定会带来人口密度的升高,但会减缓人口密度下降的速率。中欧城市对比分析表明,城市维持紧凑型空间增长方式,则城市人口密度随时间下降速率减慢;而空间增长方式由紧凑型转为蔓延型,将加剧城市人口密度随时间下降。     

APARTHEID WITHIN APARTHEID: AN ASSESSMENT OF OFFICIAL INTRA-BLACK SEGREGATION ON THE WITWATERSRAND,SOUTH AFRICA

Apartheid in South Africa operates at several levels, notably in the policies of state partition and urban residential segregation. The Black population of South African cities resides in racially exclusive townships where the various linguistic groupings are further separated as part of the apartheid policy of state partition. The extent to which linguistic segregation has been enforced in the complex Witwatersrand townships is measured in this paper. The policy has been less effective than other forms of urban segregation, suggesting constraints by the inherited township structures and management problems.