The Interface between Population and Development Models, Plans and Policies (Distinguishedl Lecture)

Although policy issues in population economics and development economics are often discussed jointly, little attention has been given to their integration in more general frameworks. These policy issues can be fruitfully incorporated in development planning given the medium to long-term orientation of both. In this paper we examine problems faced in the incorporation of POPECON variables (short for population economics) in development planning. This is done with the object of suggesting t~ntative solutions. The problems relate to: (1) Conceptual issues in defining POPECON variables (Section 2); (2) Modelling the relationship between POPECON variables (Section 3); and (3) Operationalization of frameworks for decision making (Section 4). Furthermore, we treat in Section 5 several controversial policy issues which have important population dimensions. We demonstrate there the insight gained form combining “economicsist” and “populationist” approaches.