10/28/14
Bixby Center for Population, Health and Sustainability
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley
PH181 POVERTY AND POPULATION
Fall Semester 2014
CNN 75673
3 units
Lecture:
Monday, 4-6 pm
245 Li Ka Shing Auditorium
Discussion Sections:
101 Wednesday, 10-11, 141 Giannini
102 Wednesday, 5-6, 105 Latimer
103 Wednesday, 4-5, 105 Latimer
104 Wednesday, 11-12, 182 Dwinelle
105 Wednesday, 10-11, 122 Wheeler
106 Wednesday, 11-12, 123 Wheeler
Instructors:
Malcolm Potts
Ndola Prata
Graduate Student Instructors:
Madeline Blodgett, Lisa DeMaria, Abigail Gutmann-Gonzalez, Lauren Harris, Anna Summer
Course Overview:
This course seeks to provide a rigorous understanding of the relationship between population growth, poverty, women’s autonomy and health. It explores the political “fashions” underlying changing paradigms among demographers, economists and development specialists.
You will have the opportunity of not only learning about poverty and population from lectures and readings, but you will be able to follow policy debates as they unfold. The faculty have firsthand experience of the suffering of women struggling to control family size and they are, or have been, directly involved in policy development in the field (e.g. Ethiopia, Angola, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand) and at a global level.
Worldwide, there are one million more births than deaths every 112 hours and well over 90% of this growth is in the world’s poorest countries. Only anomalous, oil-rich countries have escaped from poverty with family sizes that have remained above six or seven children. Between 1960 and 1980 considerable attention was focused on rapid population growth. After 1994, attention faded, investment in international family planning evaporated, and the number of unintended pregnancies in some groups of poor and vulnerable women increased. Recent UN population projections confirm continued rapid population growth in the least developed countries for the rest of this century. Whether the world has 6 billion or 16 billion (the UN upper and lower projections of population), it will affect not only levels of poverty and inequity, but the life of everyone on the planet.
The focus is beginning to return to population and family. In July 2012, Melinda Gates and the UK Minister of Overseas Development held the London Summit on Family Planning. However, there is still a long way to go. UC Berkeley is organizing an international initiative, The OASIS Initiative: Organizing to Advance Solutions in the Sahel and some of the teaching for this course will be built on this effort.
Course Learning Objectives:
· Understand of the relationship between population growth and poverty alleviation.
· Learn about the unmet need for family planning and giving women more autonomy.
· Explore various ways of making family planning choices universally accessible.
· Discuss the impact of access to fertility regulation on maternal and infant health, education, employment, and social stability.
· Analyze the contrasting perspectives and changing paradigms among demographers, economists and development specialists.
· Learn why family planning remains controversial and how national and international policies are developed.
Grading:
20% Short essay (4 pages, double-spaced) that relates to the readings for the lecture and discussion
sessions.
20% Midterm
25% Class participation in discussion sessions
35% Term paper (6-8 pages, double-spaced) using acquired knowledge to analyze a self-chosen
problem related to international development and proposed solutions. Your intervention idea can
be either a policy or a program. You may focus on domestic issues as they pertain to population
and poverty.
More information on the short essay and term paper will be provided in discussion sections.
Short essays turned in during class on 10/13. Outline of term paper listing at least six academic sources is due in discussion sections on 11/05. Midterm given in discussion sections on 11/12. Term papers are due the last day of class on 12/01.
Attendance
iClickers will be used in the lectures and also to validate attendance. Your final grade will be reduced
by 5% if you are absent from lecture; and 5% will be taken off your discussion session grade if you are absent. If you need to miss a class for a valid reason you must inform your GSI ahead of time to be excused.
iClickers
You can buy your iClicker remote at the Cal Bookstore. Please use iClicker or iClicker+; not iClicker GO or any mobile devices. You MUST register your iClicker online prior to use for the Fall 2014 semester at: http://www.bspace.com under the PH181 Fall14 tab and iClicker section on the left. Each student must have his or her own iClicker. Sharing is not allowed. It is imperative that you do not give your iClicker to anyone if you will be absent or do not accept someone else’s iClicker.
Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating and plagiarism are the ultimate insult to your fellow students and the University. University policies on academic integrity will be enforced in this course. The Campus Code of Student Conduct can be found at http://students.berkeley.edu/uga/conduct.asp
Class Rule
Laptops are to be used in class only for taking notes. GSIs will make random checks during the semester. On selected occasions the faculty may suggest that students use social media to share ideas discussed in the class with friends outside the class.
Readings
Students are required to read the assigned articles posted on the class bSpace and available as a reader at Krishna Copy, 2111 University Ave. Some lectures may have handouts.
Background Resources on bSpace
1) Online Sites and Resources
2) Population Pyramid
3) Population Reference Bureau’s POPULATION HANDBOOK
4) Selected lecture slides
Instructors GSIs
Malcolm Potts MD, PhD Madeline Blodgett, madelineblodgett@berkeley
207G University Hall, tel. 642-4327 Lisa DeMaria MPH, lisademaria@berkeley
Abigail Gutmann-Gonzalez, agutmann@berkeley
Lauren Harris MPH,
Ndola Prata MD, Msc Anna Summer MPH,
229 University Hall, tel. 643-4284
Course Coordinator
Claire Norris MPA
227 University Hall, tel. 642-6915
COURSE OUTLINE
9/01 Labor Day Holiday
1. 9/08 The Rest of the 21st Century: Population Momentum, Poverty and Growing Economic
Inequity (Potts, Prata, Campbell)
Course “Road Map.” A sense of scale. Population momentum. Socio-economic differences in
family size: why do they exist, can the by overcome. Basic demographic methods and measures
for population growth. Poverty and population growth. Comprehending exponential growth.
Reading:
· Haub, Carl. "Understanding Population Projections." Population Bulletin, Vol. 42(4). 1987
· Engleman, Robert. MORE: Population, Nature, and What Women Want, Island Press, 2008. Introduction, pp. 1-10
· Slovic, Paul. Numbed by Numbers. Foreign Policy March 2007
· Summary Statement from The World in 2050: A Scientific Investigation of the Impact of Global Population Changes on a Divided Planet, January 23-24, 2009
· Real-Time Map of Births and Deaths:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/a-real-time-map-of-births-and- deaths/280609/
Discussion Section: Population pyramids, population effect mind map, other demographic
lingo.
2. 9/15 Poverty, Population and Sustainability (Alain de Janvry)
Interactive discussion on the underlying causal links between poverty and health in
developing counties, the state of affairs and recent trends in world poverty, and measuring
poverty and progress.
Reading:
· De Janvry and Sadoulet, Development Economics: Thinking and Practicing Development. Chapter Five.“Poverty and Vulnerability Analysis” September 2013
· Global Poverty: A Fall to Cheer, The Economist, March 3, 2012
· Poverty: Not Always with Us, The Economist, June 1, 2013
Discussion Section: According to Oxfam, the total wealth of the richest 85 people equals that
of 3.6 billion people in the bottom half of the world’s economy, and half of the world’s
wealth is owned by just 1% of the population. State of the Future Report 2013-2014
3. 9/22 Barriers to Family Planning (Prata, Karen Weidert)
We will review the evidence on how difficult it is for poor women to get contraceptives.
In Ethiopia, for example, health care is financed out of people's own pockets, from
government taxes, and international and national donors. This class looks at the evidence on
how to make family planning easy to get. We will present evidence on how the Bixby Center
at UCB is trying to address some of the key distribution and financing mechanisms to
provide family planning in rural Africa.
Reading:
· Campbell M, Sahin-Hodoglugil NN, Potts M, Barriers to fertility regulation: a review of the literature. Stud Fam Plann. 2006 June; 37(2):87-98
· Prata N, Gessessew A, Cartwright A, Fraser A. Provision of injectable contraceptives in Ethiopia through community-based reproductive health agents. Bull World Health Organ. 2011 Aug 1;89(8):556-64. Epub 2011 Apr 29
· Prata N, Weidert K, Frazer A, Gessessew, A, Meeting Rural Demand: A Case for Combining Community-Based Distribution and Social Marketing of Injectable Contraceptives in Tigray Ethiopia, PLOS ONE, July 2013, Vol. 8, Issue 7
· One Billion Fans, Op-ed, Cassandra Blazer, Bixby Center Doctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Discussion Section: Select a country with low contraceptive prevalence and high fertility.
Discuss potential options for addressing barriers to family planning in that country. Identify
challenges and opportunities. Note: If the unmet need for family planning in Uganda could be
met the CPR would jump from 26% to 64%.
4. 9/29 Paradigms for Understanding Fertility Decline (Potts, Martha Campbell)
Demographers have worked for six decades trying to explain why birth rates fall or are stalled
at a high level. At Berkeley we have developed a new theoretical framework for understanding
this process, and it is just beginning to take hold. Our theoretical perspective also helps to
explain why a move to smaller families is achievable within a human rights framework.
Reading:
· Campbell M. Potts M. 2012. Do economists have frequent sex? Population Press. Fall 2012. 4-7
· Campbell, MM, Prata, N, Potts, M. Impact of Freedom on Fertility Transition: Revisiting the Theoretical Framework, Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, 2013: 39:44-50
· Potts, M. Getting family planning back on track, Global Health: Science and Policy 2014, Volume 2, Number 2
Discussion Section: Debate on supply side versus demand side.
5. 10/06 Demographic Dividend and Successful Family Planning Programs (Prata, Potts)
Where is the demographic dividend? Will Africa benefit from it? Why is the demographic
dividend important to alleviate current poverty levels in Africa? The class will also review
successful family planning programs, level of political commitment, and funding and
leadership necessary to achieve success.
Reading:
· Eastwood R, Lipton M. Demographic transition in sub-Saharan Africa: how big will the economic dividend be? Population Studies (Camb). 2011 Mar; 65(1): 9-35
· Judith Seltzer, The Origins and Evolution of Family Planning Programs in Developing Countries, Rand Report
· Fertility and Economic Growth around the World, Population Reference Bureau, March 2013: http://www.prb.org/Multimedia/Video/2013/tfr-gni-engage-short.aspx
· The Dividend is Delayed:
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21598646-hopes-africas-dramatic-population-bulge-may-create-prosperity-seem-have
Discussion Section: Dissecting the demographic dividend. Discuss examples from Asia and
make comparisons with Africa.
6. 10/13 Poverty and Subsistence Farming (Federico Castillo)
In most developing countries the agricultural sector employs the majority of the workforce.
The agricultural sector plays an important role in determining socio-economic outcomes
associated with nutrition, health, environmental quality, gender relations and others. In this
lecture we will explore the role that agriculture plays in the process of economic develop-
ment and how agricultural productivity, agricultural markets and associated institutional
arrangements can increase the wellbeing of those living in rural areas. Emphasis will be
given to African countries while using examples from Latin America and Asia.
► Turn in short essay in class.
Readings:
· SOFA Team and Doss, Cheryl. “The Role of Women in Agriculture”. FAO Working Paper No. 11-02. 43 pp. 2011
· Diao, Xinshen, Hazeill, Peter and Thurlow, James. “The Role of Agriculture in African Development”. World Development Report. No. 38 pp. 1375-1383. 2010
Discussion Section: How can women help increase food production in Africa?
7. 10/20 The Special Case of Africa (Prata)
For many countries in Africa population growth appears to affect the quality of the
development process more than the rate of growth of average per capita income.
Reasons for population growth. Implications for economic development and poverty
alleviation. Effects of HIV/AIDS epidemic on population size, age structure of the
population, characteristics and impact on society and economic development. Attaining the
MDGs: how is Africa doing? Education, the foundation for development and empowerment
of women; the case of Northern Nigeria.
Reading:
· Ezeh AC, Bongaarts J, Mberu B.Global population trends and policy options. Lancet. 2012 Jul 14;380(9837):142-8. Epub 2012 Jul 10
· Jean-Christophe Fotso, Alex Chika Ezeh, Nyovani Janet Madise, James Ciera: Progress towards the child mortality millennium development goal in urban sub-Saharan Africa: the dynamics of population growth, immunization, and access to clean water. BMC Public Health 2007, 7:218
· Thornton PK, Jones PG, Ericksen PJ, Challinor AJ. Agriculture and food systems in sub-Saharan Africa in a 4°C+ world. Philos Transact A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2011 Jan 13;369(1934):117-36
· D Perlman et al, Pathways to Choice: Delaying Age of Marriage through Girl-Child Education in Northern Nigeria, from Women’s Health and Empowerment, University of California Press (in press)
· We Can End Poverty: Millennium Development Goals and Beyond, United Nations,
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
Discussion Section: If the absolute number of poor people goes up, but the fraction of people
in poverty comes down, has poverty gone up or gone down? Why is this important?
8. 10/27 Poverty in Extreme Conditions (Potts, Alisha Graves, Paige Passano)
Why have an OASIS meeting? How did it evolve? What will the next one be about? The role
of child marriage in population growth. Feed the future.
Reading:
· OASIS Initiative, A Project of the University of California, Berkeley and African Institute for Development Policy
· Potts, M, Henderson, C, Campbell, M. The Sahel: A Malthusian Challenge, Spring Science and Business Media Dordrecht 2013
· Potts M., Gidi V, Campbell, Zureick. Niger: Too Little, Too Late International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 17: 95-101. 2011
· Cincotta R. P. 2008 March/April How democracies grow up: Countries with too many young people may not have a fighting chance for freedom. Foreign Policy 165:80-82
Discussion Section: Can an OASIS Initiative in Berkeley help poor people in Burkina Faso?