Very little is currently known about the demographic impact of most development projects and the ways in which this impact can be assessed. This book, based on studies in Third World countries, focuses on conceptual, methodological and policy issues in its evaluation of the demographic impact of development projects. The author examines whether demographic effects can be assessed and why development planners should be interested in the results. A.S. Oberai examines to what extent economic and social ranges generated by specific development interventions have influenced demographic behavior in a particular context. He suggests how desired effects can be enhanced and undesirable effects minimized by policy-makers and planners in developing countries in order to deal with problems of population growth and its distribution. The major shortcomings of existing methodologies are identified and future directions which research might take are outlined. The study is based on a synthesis of country studiesreviewing the demographic impact of development projects carried out in Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. It also includes analyses of the demographic impact of development interventions in several other countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, and Nigeria. Published for the International Labour Organisation

First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Thailand has experienced extraordinary demographic change and record-breaking economic growth during the last few decades. This study uses a recently developed projection model - HOMES, Household Model for Economic and Social Studies - to examine the changes and their continuing implications for six demographically sensitive sectors of the economy: education, health, housing, consumer expenditure, household saving, as well as labor force, employment, and wages. The relationship between demographic change and each of these economic sectors is assessed through extensive analysis of census and survey data collected during the 1980s. The study is a joint effort of the East-West Center's Program on Population, the National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand, and the Asian Development Bank.