Population and Development: Implications for the World Bank

Report examines the changes in population dynamics and in the policy environment that have produced this consensus and explores their policy and operational implications for the World Bank's population work. The report has five core messages:

• Slowing population growth is still a high priority in the poorest countries. High birth rates and very young populations make it more difficult to reduce poverty, invest in human resources, and pursue sustainable economic development. For individuals, unplanned and poorly timed pregnancies pose grave health risks.
• Population policy should be integrated with social policies that address a range of poverty reduction and human development objectives. Particular emphasis should be placed on better infant and child health, education of girls, and overall improvements in the status of women. These measures bring important benefits in their own right, and experience now shows that they are more effective in reducing high birth rates than policies that focus narrowly on fertility reduction alone.
• Population programs should focus on providing the poor with access to high-quality, user-oriented services that offer a range of choices in addressing fertility regulation and other reproductive health needs. This approach is more likely to change reproductive behavior and to improve individual health and welfare, particularly when accompanied by effective information about the benefits of such services.
• Country-specific strategies are required. Public sector interventions will need to take into account individual country needs, cultural values, and financial and institutional constraints. In many instances, the appropriate role of government will be to ensure that adequate information is available and to remove obstacles to the effective functioning of the private sector. In some cases, especially in poor countries that do not yet have service-delivery infrastructure and institutional capacity, selective investments may be required to remedy these gaps.
• In addition to population growth, other demographic issues have taken on increased social, economic, and political significance: urbanization, international migration, and aging. These demographic issues cut across a wide range of sectors - health, education, infrastructure, social security, trade - that are beyond the scope of this report. Understanding and determining how the World Bank should respond to them in coming decades should be addressed through research, sector work, and policy dialogue.

[author]