State of World Population 2012 - UNFPA Haiti

substantially, created new opportunities forinvestment and helped Asian countries reducetheir reliance on foreign capital (Higgins andWilliamson 1996; Higgins and Williamson,1997). The rise in savings rates also contributedto the establishment of pension systems andsocial welfare systems: ever-increasing populationsof working-age adults were able to financethe benefits of a relatively small group of elderlycitizens (Reher, 2011).Improved health, improved investments inschooling, higher savings rates and more investmentultimately translate into economic growth.The rapid growth of East Asian economies since1975 has been shown to be related to its demographicdividend. One study finds that changesin age structure account for as much as one-thirdof the Asian “tiger” economies (Bloom, Canningand Malaney, 2000; Williamson, 2001).Research also shows that the initial healthof a population is one of the most robust andpotent drivers of economic growth. One studyfound that one extra year of life expectancyraises GDP per capita by about 4 per cent(Bloom, Canning and Silva, 2001; Bloom,Canning and Silva, 2003).ConclusionGreater access to family planning can improvethe well-being of women, men, children, theirhouseholds and communities by increasing lifeexpectancy, decreasing morbidity and improvinghealth more broadly. It increases opportunitiesto invest in schooling and other forms of humancapital and to participate in labour markets,increasing productivity and raising incomes,savings, investment and asset accumulation.Declines in mortality, followed by declinesin fertility, lead to changes in the age-structureof the population and also produces anaggregate “demographic dividend” at the levelof countries. This leads to improvements ineconomic growth and development.Three main conclusions emerge from thisliterature. First, improvements in reproductivehealth not only ensure rights and improvethe lives of women and children, but alsoalleviate poverty and promote economicgrowth. Second, integrated programmesaimed at improving reproductive health—maternal health, child health, nutrition, andfamily planning programmes—can resultin demographic change as well as economicchange. Third, these programmes shouldnot be regarded as substitutes for any othertype of policy aimed at increasing growth orsustainable development in a society. Rather,family planning should be regarded as onecomponent of broader strategies to invest inhuman capital, particularly for women.tYouth-friendly servicesin Egypt.© UNFPA/Matthew CasselTHE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 201285