Impact of Population Growth on the Ethiopian Economic Performance
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Date
2014-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Ethiopia is the second populous country in Africa while it is one of the Sub-Saharan Countries
trapped by poverty. Her population is increasing at an average rate of 2.5%. Thus the objective
of this study to examine whether population growth has its own bad effects on the Ethiopian
economy
Population may be considered a major factor for the abject poverty trap of the country in the
period 1970/71-1990/91 since per capita income was very low. Although there has been
registered improvement of economic performance since 2004/05, population growth has been
still high though the rate has been decreasing. Econometric analysis has shown that population
growth has had a significant negative impact in the short run but that of positive impact in the
long run on the economic performance of the country.
Thus realisticpopulation policies should be designed and implemented to adjust/control high
rate of population growth and make it a beneficial resource for the economy. For instance
minimizing high birth rate can be an effective policy instrument since high birth rate can be a
burden on the economy. Moreover, further research should be done to identify productivity of
population.
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Keywords
Population Growth