How economic growth affects society

Changes in social structures occurring during the process of economic growth can be considered direct consequences of this process, while other changes are caused by factors such as technological progress, that affect simultaneously social structures and growth. Below are the effects of economic growth on poverty and population. 

The impact of economic growth on poverty have been documented even though the relationship is not direct. In some cases it can be positive, i.e. economic growth leading to reduction in poverty; while in some cases it can be negative, i.e. economic growth leading to increase in poverty. The impact of economic growth on poverty depends highly on the inequalities that are prevailing in an economy.

Economic growth does impact population. As the economy grows, and societies become more able to physically support excess population, population growth has declined. 

This is because in most primitive societies, an additional child is another source of labor, and another hedge against the time when the parents cannot provide for themselves. This is the case in most primitive societies, where the parents who do not have many children cannot expect to have someone to support them in their old age. 

Once society shifts towards a more knowledge based economy, however, the investment required to make someone a contributing member of society increases, while at the same time, social safety nets reduce the dependence people have on their children during their old age. 

So as the economy grows, population also grows, but once a shift is made from a primarily agrarian economy to a more technologically focused one, the benefit of having additional children declines, and parents tend to invest more in a few offspring, rather than have a lot in the hopes that some will survive and take care of them. 

In some case, such as Japan and some parts of Europe, natural reproduction rates have fallen below that needed for the replacement of members. 

Concerns about possible negative effects of growth on the environment and society led some to advocate lower levels of growth. This led to the ideas of unconomic growth and gegrowth – and Green parties that argue that economies are part of a global society and global ecology, and cannot outstrip their natural growth without damaging those.

Those more optimistic about the environmental impacts of growth believe that, though localized environmental effects may occur, large-scale ecological effects are minor. The argument, as stated by commentator Julian Lincoln Simon, states that if these global-scale ecological effects exist, human ingenuity will find ways to adapt to them.

Zheng Boya (24)