Re: e$: The Demographic "Transaction" (was Re: Schelling Points...)

[Bart Croughs <bart.croughs@tip.nl>]

At monday 29 july, Arun Mehta wrote:


>As I see it, having more children makes sound economic sense when
>you have child labor. You feed the child for 4-5 years, after
>which it contributes financially to the family for the rest of
>its short life. More stringent enforcement of anti child-labor
>legislation would help. Increase in life expectancy is also good,
>because then you need fewer children as insurance.

The only effect of more stringent enforcement of anti child-labor legislation is to harm the children involved. You may think that the millions of families in Third World countries who are too poor to provide for their children, will be magically become rich enough to send their children to school once the anti child-labor legislation will be enforced. This is not the case. When the factories don't want the children anymore because of the government regulations, the children will simply be working in other places - at home, in the streets. And this is work that pays less. 
	Child labour in the West didn't stop because of anti child-labour laws; it stopped the moment the people became rich enough to provide for their children, thanks to the capitalist revolution in the 18th & 19th century. The same path will have to be followed by the Third World countries today.

>The spread of the Internet, and the ability to post anonymously
>should help in exposing instances of violation of child-labor
>laws, and increasing outrage. Hopefully, it will also make it
>easier to spread literacy, which is arguably the best way to keep
>population down.

Instead of posting to the net to increase outrage about the violations of harmful child labour laws, you better begin posting to the net to increase outrage about the socialist governments in the Third World that keep their populations in poverty.
	 I suggest you read the books of C. Nardanelli: 'Child labour and the industrial revolution' , and F. Hayek (ed): 'Capitalism and the historians'.

Bart

bart.croughs@tip.nl