Malthus in Latin America: Demographic Responses during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

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Abstract
This chapter evaluates the relevance of a Malthusian framework in an effort to account for short-term fluctuations in vital rates in Latin America during the period 1800-1990. We have three goals. First, we evaluate short-term responses during the period 1920-90. This period is relatively rich in data and contains a number of historical episodes with potentially strong impact on population. We show that, even after the onset of transitions towards modern demographic regimes, there is evidence of a residual mechanism whereby marriages, births, and deaths react to changes in economic conditions. This evidence is not particularly strong but is consistent with expectations. Of some importance are the effects on mortality wrought by causes of death during the period 1950-90, an era punctuated by a prolonged crisis (‘the debt crisis’) that most of these countries experienced during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.

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