This volume presents the latest thinking concerning the effect of population growth on economic development and other areas of global concern, such as poverty, health, human resource development and the environment. The authors address the complex issues that currently face both developed and developing country governments in the area of population: the relationship between population and economic growth; the relations of family planning and fertility reduction to women's reproductive health and women's rights; population growth consequences, at the family and societal level, for investments in human resource development; the impact of population growth on local ecosystems and the rationale for population assistance programs.