The documentary Demographic Winter features the Nobel Prize-winning Chicago economist Gary Becker , inter alii. It shows how economists and demographers are predicting a peak in world population by circa 2050. Gary Becker et al. argue that birthrates are the best economic indicator. Is this true? Wha…

birthrates are the best economic indicator What does that mean? O.o

By “economic indicator” I mean “a number that can predict the health/growth of an economy.”

It’s a difficult question. Mises discusses population growth briefly in stating that so long as population was above the “optimum point of population”, that any further increases in the number of human beings alive increased everyone’s living standards in the same way that an increase in capital wou…

What if by “economic indicator” I mean “a measure of the efficiency of an economy”? How would birthrates affect that? Or how about “economic indicator” meaning “a measure of the overall standard of living”? How would birthrates affect that? Thanks for the insight

“a measure of the efficiency of an economy” This cannot be determined a priori, however an increase in the population would almost certainly lead to an increase in entrepreneurship. Assuming that shrewd lending standards were maintained this would inrease overall efficiency would increase as factor…

Mises defined “economic prosperity” as “productivity rising faster than population”. There are two ways in which this can occur: productivity growth can accelerate, or population growth can decelerate. If both happen at the same time, then the gains from the accelerating productivity growth is just …

I’d’ve thought Mises’s humanistic economics would’ve been concerned about the replacement of human capital. Is not praxeology only applicable to humans? As I wrote in another thread here concerning the role of human creativity in an economy: So, I read the “Creative Genius” section [of Human Acti…

A few years ago, I read Dan Arnold’s “book” - The Great Bust Ahead. The book was written in 2002. He predicted a huge economic depression to occur around this time based solely on demographics*.* Back then he predicted the Dow to top at 40,000 in 2009. Well, he was a little off in the magnitude but…

Yes, I am still surprised I cannot find a work by an Austrian economist-demographer. There has to be something similar to “Dan Arnold’s thesis” in the Austrian realm. The distribution of age groups (related to birthrates) is certainly an important economic factor, no? Thanks

Birthrates best economic indicator?

Economics Economics Questions

Porco_Rosso December 26, 2011, 12:16pm 8

It could be, but then again, it might not be.

Production ≠ Creation?

Economics of Science?

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Birthrates best economic indicator?

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