The 1994 ICPD in Cairo: Draconian measures vs. the empowerment of women

Respect for the environment, concerns about population, and the drive toward an efficient and equitable resource allocation are important elements in a relevant and ethical study of economics. Serious problems arise, however, whenever attempts at social control are masked as environmental science and population economics. This paper suggests that economic progress, democracy, and the empowerment of women, better address global problems than do draconian measures.