Many of the policies and spending priorities aimed at curbing population growth have been based on a combination of inadequate data, wishful thinking and faulty logic. To resolve some of the misconceptions about population issues, there is a need for expanded scientific research using experimental designs to gather conclusive evidence about the relative effects of various approaches to curbing population growth.

If population growth is one of the world's most serious problems, you wouldn't know it from the relatively small investment of money and strategic thinking provided by the nations of the world. Altogether, the developed nations of the world contribute less than a billion dollars a year toward family planning assistance in developing countries. This is less than four days' budget of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is less than half the cost of one stealth bomber. If we really want to accelerate the solution to the population problem, we will need to invest collectively far more now. For there is little doubt that a population doubling from 5.5 billion to 11 billion will have far greater impact than the doubling we have just experienced in the last 40 years.

Many population myths are based on unverifiable or imaginary relationships. Often, however, beliefs about population are based on interesting and plausible-sounding correlations (yet unproven) that may provide hints of possible relationships.

Someone once said, "Hell is truth, seen too late." Many policy makers and funders have been reluctant to recognize overwhelming evidence that some of their pet beliefs are countered by impressive evidence.

The predominant myths about population include:

• Misconceptions about the nature of the problem
• The belief that population growth poses no threat
• The belief we cannot do anything about population growth; and
• Beliefs about simple approaches that are mistakenly believed to hold promise of a quick fix to the population problem

In the list above, the fourth area (interventions intended to solve the population problem) is the most important for those concerned with population policies. How should the world spend its limited resources in order to most rapidly bring about diminution of population growth and ultimate stabilization of numbers? While there are important and widely held myths even among population professionals, there is also good news that is not widely known. There are interventions that have been shown to rapidly bring about reductions in desired family size and actual fertility. Some of these interventions are described at the end of this paper.

Contents:

1. Misconceptions About the Nature of the Proplem
2. The Belief That Population Growth Poses No Threat
3. The Belief We Cannot Do Anything About Population Growth
4. Beliefs About Simple Approaches That Are Mistakenly Believed to Hold Promise of a Quick Fix to the Population Problem
5. The Centrality of Motivation
6. Solutions to the Population Problem
7. References

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