"RAND Labor and Population."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-124).

Human beings' powerful effect on the environment is becoming increasingly clear. Demographic factors are commonly recognized as a primary global driver of human-induced environmental change, along with biophysical, economic, sociopolitical, technological, and cultural factors. Concerns about demographic effects on the environment are fueled by demographic trends such as global population growth and the exponential growth of urban areas. These trends have spawned a body of literature regarding the connections between demographic trends and natural resources, such as water, much of which has taken an alarmist view. These reports often limit themselves to looking at the effects of population growth, and treat water supplies as static and population as ever increasing, inexorably leading to a water-availability crisis. This report attempts to present a more holistic view of the interaction between demographic factors and water resources by considering a wider range of demographic variables as well as a set of mitigating factors that influence water availability at the local level. The report focuses primarily on conditions in developing countries, since that is where the forces of demographics and natural resources intersect with the fewest social and economic resources to mediate their impacts.

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