 The economists and New Zealand population: problems and policies 1900–1980sGeoffrey T. F. Brooke, Anthony M. Endres and Alan J. Rogers New Zealand Economic Papers, 2018, vol. 52, issue 2, 204-226 Abstract: We examine contrasting modalities of economic thought by economists on population problems and policies in NZ, 1900–1980s. Since the early 1900s, NZ economists have been concerned with interactions between economic and demographic outcomes. During the inter-war period, Malthusian concerns became muted because NZ's population growth rate slowed appreciably in the 1930s. A ‘laissez-faire’ position was articulated among some economists in terms of external migration flows; others debated the implications of a stationary population. The post-WWII era ushered in a doctrine of ‘stable population Keynesianism’ based on optimistic neo-Malthusianism that perspective clashed with contemporary views on population expansion and the promotion of immigration coextensive with the policy of planned industrialization. An intellectual void became apparent in the early 1980s, perhaps because concern with the dynamics of population change in a small, liberalized, open economy seemed misplaced. Lessons are drawn from this intellectual history that may inform modern debate on population policy, broadly conceived. Date: 2018 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:nzecpp:v:52:y:2018:i:2:p:204-226 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/00779954.2017.1305983 Access Statistics for this article New Zealand Economic Papers is currently edited by Dennis Wesselbaum More articles in New Zealand Economic Papers from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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