Which theory suggests that ‘population growth is linked to overall levels of economic development and every society follows a typical pattern of development-related population growth’?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Theory of Demographic Transition
Option (1) Theory of Population Growth — Incorrect. The best-known theory of population growth is that of Malthus. He argued that population grows faster than the means of subsistence (food), so it is kept in check by famine and disease or by limiting births. His theory sees growth as a threat to prosperity, not as a pattern that follows development.
Option (2) Theory of Demographic Transition — Correct. This theory links population growth to the level of economic development. Every society passes through three stages: low growth when both birth and death rates are high, rapid growth when death rates fall but birth rates stay high, and low growth again when both are low in a developed society.
Option (3) Theory of Capitalism — Incorrect. Capitalism is Marx’s subject: a system of commodity production for the market through wage labour. It explains how an economy is organised, not how population grows with development.
Option (4) Liberal theory of Development — Incorrect. The phrase speaks of development alone; it says nothing about the stages of population growth that the question describes.
NCERT (2025-26): “The Theory of Demographic Transition … Another significant theory in demography is the theory of demographic transition. This suggests that population growth is linked to overall levels of economic development and that every society follows a typical pattern of development-related population growth. There are three basic stages of population growth.…” |