Global vs National economies

[Fight!]

Well, as im sure many people know that the U.S. is in a recession and my theory for this was global overpopulation...however this would imply other nations are in a state of financial decline as well. :hmmm:

So that brings us to the questions:

1. How is your country doing as a whole?
2. Do you think my theory is correct or incorrect?
3. If you believe my theory is incorrect please state your own theory on why your country (or the world) is in a state of decline

Thanks in advance for the feedback

[Viking Prince]

How is overpopulation a factor for recessions? What indications are there of overpopulation as a factor in recessions? Since economic downturns are a common occurance as population has increased, how are the current circumstances differant to place some of the blame on population?

It is hard to comment until there is a bit more fleshed out on your idea. Are you thinking of people such as Erlich, Daly, etc.? Club of Rome or Population Bomb from popular literature? Mathus? Or are thinking more along the lines of some academic paper that you have read?

[Fight!]

You know it's a "global" downturn right?

That's what i thought, just didnt know for sure.

How is overpopulation a factor for recessions? What indications are there of overpopulation as a factor in recessions? Since economic downturns are a common occurance as population has increased, how are the current circumstances differant to place some of the blame on population?

It is hard to comment until there is a bit more fleshed out on your idea. Are you thinking of people such as Erlich, Daly, etc.? Club of Rome or Population Bomb from popular literature? Mathus? Or are thinking more along the lines of some academic paper that you have read?

I was thinking that the more people there are, the more spread out the money is. And no, i haven't read any paper with a theory like overpopulation. And i have never heard of Elrich, Daly, Mathus, Club of Rome, or Population Bomb.


Oh and musthavename, you made some good points.

[Musthavename]

You know it's a "global" downturn right? Pretty much everywhere is feeling something one way or another. Granted a few places arn't, but those are the ones that don't have ties with Europe / US, which most do in some way. Now, to answer your questions.

How is your country doing as a whole?

UK - It's screwed. We're in recession (technically we're not, until the news comes later this month that we definetly are), the Goverment's piling up debt, and wasting money on measures which won't do anything. I'm not concerned about the downturn, i'm concerned that when I graduate from University, a job might be a bit difficult to find, and if I find one, my taxes will be higher than they really should be if the Goverment did well.

I'm alright myself though. I'm annoyed at losing 3-4% interest on my savings, but i'm not dependant on those. Haven't spent any more money, or less.

Do you think my theory is correct or incorrect?

Incorrect

If you believe my theory is incorrect please state your own theory on why your country (or the world) is in a state of decline

It's caused by people not spending money.

The real reasons are what causes people to not spend money. We've got several on our hands at the moment:

1) The hike in oil mid-last year is still in electricity & gas bills, meaning people have to budget for money they can't.
2) The economy was dependant on an excess of credit. When the banks realise other banks had risky debts, they're much more careful about who they lend to, meaning we're going cold-turkey on credit right now.
3) Part of the economy over here, was that house prices were certain to rise. As soon as they start going down, people don't want a house, they want to let it come down. Thus, the construction markets gone there, you've got banks not letting out mortgages, and everything else associated with housing going to hell.
4) As companies arn't making enough money, they cut jobs. If unemployment rises, thats also more people with less money, which means less money is getting spent.

There's a multitude of reasons out there, but the root of it, is people arn't spending the money they did a year ago.

[OccamR]

There is no doubt we're in a global recession. Just so you know that's what globalization leads to: countries make more money together, but they also suffer together.

Just check out major country stock indices. for example:
Japan: Nikkei 225 - high of 13603 to a low of 8274.
China: SSE 180 Index - high of 6730 to a low of 4408.
India: BSE Sensex - high of 14901 to a low of 8910.
For more use Google.

[wilting]

Well some economies are more 'globailsed' than others and more dependent on global trends.

Its has nothing to do with population though, really. More people is also more works and more consumers. Of course there is a sustainability issue, but that hasn't been a major factor here, or at least I haven't seen anybody making that claim. If overpopulation was a problem, other than in scarity of resources, then the human societies wouldn't work at a fundamental level...