Introduction

The primary motivation of this chapter is to draw attention to the deleterious ramifications of uncontrolled population growth on poverty and the happiness of a society. There was a short period in the 1960s during which the link between rapid population growth and famine and pestilence was pointed out by citing Malthus's (1798) early work, as well as of others. Recalling Bacaër (2011),

Advancement of society and an economy was linked to the ability of a country to control population growth. Multilateral institutions strongly encouraged population control for developing countries. Following this policy route, China opted in favour of a one-child policy with severe consequences for those who failed to adhere to it. India too had a population policy encouraging a two to three children family but abandoned it later.

With global advancements in crop production, disease control, education levels, and rapid improvements in per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) often accompanied by enhancements in the economic standard of living, the earlier emphasis on the need for population control receded. Two factors seemed to play a part. First, economic advancements seemed to have imparted a sense of confidence to advanced and developing economies alike that a high rate of population growth could not only be managed but used for further advancements of individual economies. This was termed the ‘demographic dividend’. Second, there was a reappearance of a major influence of the declared Western religions to re-emphasize the abrogation of the use of population control methods across the globe and that influence appears to have come to stay