A Reply to Paul Demeny's "On the End of the Population Explosion"

The point needs to be made that the personalized tenor of Paul Demenys critique is considered inappropriate and the intention in this reply is to discern the nature of the disagreement and how it can best be resolved. In his critique Demeny denies the 3 following propositions that are reaffirmed in this discussion: 1) birthrates in developing nations have declined faster than demographers had expected; 2) the scope and intensity of organized family planning programs are an important causal force in fertility delcine independent of the pace of social and economic development; and 3) the population projections for developing countries made by the Community and Family Study Center are as realistic as those thus far prepared and deserve serious consideration and use in planning for the future. It is argued that empirical data and social science theory support these propositions and that adherents of views such as those expressed by Demeny are likely to be fewer in the future. An unfortunate aspect of Demenys critique is its use of personal invective.