A Concise History of World Population

This study describes and explains the history of human population. It examines the changing patterns of its growth, and the effects upon it of migrations, wars, disease, technology and culture. First published in 1992, the book is an account of the contemporary recasting of theory, and features a reasoned treatment of issues crucial to the future of every species. This revised edition takes account of recent trends and research. The author provides a new account of the causes and consequences of European migration and colonization, and of the interactive influence of nature, place and space on settlement and population dynamics. He has revised his discussion of the relationship between development, affluence and population change. The final chapters of the book have been entirely recast to give an extensive analysis of the carrying capacity of the planet in relation to a possible doubling of population during the next 50 years. The book examines the effects of changes in relative affluence and population growth on food production, resources and the natural environment. We are entering a new historical phase, Massimo Livi-Bacci suggests, in which population growth will cease to produce economies of scale and may start to produce overwhelming diseconomies - the result of which could be environmental collapse and human catastrophy. The underlying purpose of this book is to understand the links between nature, culture and population, and to seek thereby the means of avoiding such an outcome.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 The space and strategy of demographic growth: humans and animals; divide and multiply; Jacopo Bichi and Domenica Del Buono, Jean Guyon and Mathurine Robin; reproduction and survival; the space of growth; environmental constraints; a few figures. Part 2 Demographic growth: between choice and constraint - constraint, choice, adaptation; from hunters to farmers - the Neolithic demographic transition; Black Death and demographic decline in Europe; the tragedy of the American Indios - old microbes and new populations; the French Canadians, a demographic success story; Ireland and Japan - two islands, two histories; on the threshold of the contemporary world. Part 3 Land, labour and population: diminishing returns and demographic growth; historical confirmations; demographic pressure and economic development; more on demographic pressure and development - examples from the Stone Age to the present day; population size and prosperity; space, land and development; increasing or decreasing returns? Part 4 Toward order and efficiency - the recent demography of Europe and the Developed World: from waste to economy; from disorder to order - the lengthening of life; from high to low fertility; European emigration - a unique phenomenon; a summing up - the results of the transition; theoretical considerations on the relationship between demographic and economic growth; more on the relationship between demographic and economic growth - empirical observations. Part 5 The populations of poor countries: an extraordinary phase; the conditions of survival; a brief geography of fertility; demographic policy and the conditions and prospects for fertility decline; India and China; fertilia and sterilia; explaining a paradox. Part 6 The future: population and self-regulation; the numbers of the future; the moving limits; the emerging limits; calculations and values.

About the Author :
Massimo Livi-Bacci is Professor of Demography at the University of Florence. From 1989 to 1993 he was President of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population. He has published extensively on the history of population and on demography, and has taught or held research fellowships at universities all over the world, including the College de France, the Colegio de Mexico, Princeton University, University of California at Berkeley, and Brown University. In Italy he is a member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and of the Committee of Enquiry on poverty. Carl Ipsen is an assistant professor of History and West European Studies at Indiana University. He has recently published Dictating Demography: the Problem of Population in Fascist History.

Review :
Reviews of the first edition: "A fine book, well worth reading and highly stimulating for students. It can be thoroughly recommended." Population Studies "This readable account displays the main strands of the thick skin of human head counts unusually well." Scientific American "Livi-Bacci marshals an impressive array of evidence to describe large-scale population changes in human history and their future implications." Choice "This is a bold and intelligent book providing a coherent overview of an enormous topic. Livi-Bacci is a thoughtful, incisive, and wide-ranging guide into a vast terrain; readers will not get lost." Journal of Interdisciplinary History "This is a balanced and thoughtful treatment of an important and highly controversial subject. It is breathtaking in scope, and sure to become a classic." Richard A. Easterlin, University of South Carolina "Authoritative, succinct and readable." Ansley J. Coale, Princeton University "Graceful and wide-ranging, the story is fascinating, and told with style and enthusiasm." Sam Preston, University of Pennsylvania Reviews of the first edition: "A fine book, well worth reading and highly stimulating for students. It can be thoroughly recommended." "Population Studies" "This readable account displays the main strands of the thick skin of human head counts unusually well." "Scientific American" "Livi-Bacci marshals an impressive array of evidence to describe large-scale population changes in human history and their future implications." "Choice" "This is a bold and intelligent book providing a coherent overview of an enormous topic. Livi-Bacci is a thoughtful, incisive, and wide-ranging guide into a vast terrain; readers will not get lost." "Journal of Interdisciplinary History" "This is a balanced and thoughtful treatment of an important and highly controversial subject. It is breathtaking in scope, and sure to become a classic." "Richard A. Easterlin, University of South Carolina" "Authoritative, succinct and readable." "Ansley J. Coale, Princeton University" "Graceful and wide-ranging, the story is fascinating, and told with style and enthusiasm." "Sam Preston, University of Pennsylvania"