The relationship between population growth and living standards: the evidence from Japan and Singapore

Abstract: The problem of increasing population is quite an old topic. The main aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between population and economic growth in Japan and Singapore in the period between the 1960s and 2000s. This is to be done using theoretical framework involving theories of economic growth, as well as structural and demographic change theories. The study indicates a positive relationship for the selected cases but it is not straightforward as the direction of causality is controversial. The key factors in terms of the above mentioned theories are present in order to explain the causality direction and the impact mechanism itself.