Family planning is "a program to regulate the number and spacing of children in a family through the practice of contraception or other methods of birth control." This paper looks at the relationship between the three components of the Human Development Index, respectively education, health and GNP per capita, and the level of contraception in Latin America as a whole. Contraception and education influence each other, through the decrease of fertility rates and the positive impact of awareness campaigns. Health is also highly correlated with the contraceptive prevalence rate through maternal mortality, infant mortality, and child-mortality and abortion rate, not withstanding the fact that contraception prevents the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. GDP per capita is simultaneously affected by contraception through the decrease in fertility rates and affecting the level of implementation and success of family planning programs.
[...] Although the Romer model makes it sound easy, launching the wheel of growth in Latin America is still a big challenge. The main reason behind that is the political and economic instability in the region. The future success of Latin American economies requires more help from donor countries, more foreign direct investments, a reduction of debt and much less inequality.[xxxviii] Policy recommendations Whether it is through NGOs, self-financed governmental projects, or large world-wide donor aid, family planning policies do not only succeed or fail at its fiscal source, but rather, in its application locally. [...]
[...] Unfortunately, religious traditions remain a reality in Latin America and continue to greatly offset the road toward sustainable development. Finally, because education provides economic growth, reinforcing health-related measures such as family planning; a healthy population may increase the return to investments in education and a greater education capital improves the return to investments in health. Health “Family planning objectives should include reducing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality, lowering the risks of teenage pregnancy and abortion, and preventing sexually transmitted diseases.”[xvii] The contraceptive prevalence rate[xviii] is positively correlated with the life expectancy at birth index in the HDI. [...]
[...] In this sense, Latin America, in reducing population growth, and in turn, achieving a greater level of education, health and GDP per capita, are well on their way to level of development on par with a middle to middle-high HDI. The rates of success of these programs depend on how responsive Latin American governments are to the HDI variables and their enormous implication on all other factors of development. Endnotes UNFPA: Economic Impact of Population Dynamics Todaro, Michal & Stephen C. [...]
[...] Examination of the general economic situation in Latin America Every economic analysis starts with an examination of the major prosperity indicators such as the GDP and GNI (absolute and per capita) or even GNP. By simply looking at the total GDP figures (PPP adjusted), we can clearly observe a big discrepancy between relatively wealthy countries like Brazil and Mexico on one hand, and the less wealthy countries on the other (middle/low income countries).[xxxi] However, total GDP alone is not enough to assess and categorize the Latin American economies (since it doesn't take into account the countries' population). [...]
[...] Additionally, contraception also leads to better education: “There is clear evidence that enabling people to have fewer children, if they want to, helps to stimulate development and reduce poverty.”[vii] Logically, smaller families have a higher share of income per capita.[viii] A smaller family is thus more likely to invest in their child's education, providing they have the means to do so, and will consequently strengthen the population's economic and human resources. Perceptibly, the relationship between education and contraception is a mutually reciprocating cycle. [...]
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