7 BILLION AND YOU
A David and Cecilia Ting Endowment Fund Lecture Series
The Economics of the Seven Billion
Thursday, February 28, 2013, 7:00 pm,
Room 1900, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings
Presented by Dr. Nicolas Eberstadt, Hery Wendt Chair in Political
Economy, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC
Abstract:
Despite population levels having nearly quadrupled over the 20th century, almost all of us are
living longer, healthier and wealthier lives. Food production has steadily outstripped population
growth, and natural resources are generally more readily available today than in the past. Are
government attempts to plan and reduce populations based on a misreading of the situation? Is
the 20th century’s unprecedented population growth only a result of people living longer due to
better health? Can voluntary family planning programs have more impact on family size today
than they have done in the past? What is the effective role of parental choice?
Bio-Sketch:
Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economist and demographer by training, is also a senior adviser to the National
Bureau of Asian Research. In the US he has served on the President’s Council on Bioethics and the Board of
Scientific Counselors of the National Center for Health Statistics, among other capacities. He researches and writes
extensively on economic development, global health, demographics, and poverty. A prolific author, he has published
hundreds of articles and studies and some 20 books and monographs, ranging from Poverty In China (1979) to,
most recently, A Nation of Takers: America’s Entitlement Epidemic (2012). Mr. Eberstadt earned his AB, MPA and
Ph.D at Harvard and his M.Sc. at the London School of Economics. In 2012 he was awarded the Bradley Prize.
7 Billion and You is a series of free public lectures and discussions by
leading thinkers on the patterns, processes and prognosis for a planet
housing 7 billion humans and counting. It is hosted by the Human
Evolutionary Studies Program in cooperation with Continuing Studies
in Science and Environment at Simon Fraser University. For details on
all of the lectures visit (www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science/projects.php). All
of the lectures will be recorded and available on the website. For more
information, contact: lauriew@sfu.ca
Sponsors:
Faculty of Environment, SFU
Faculty of Science, SFU
Human Evolutionary Studies Program, SFU
David and Cecilia Ting Endowment, Lifelong Learning, SFU
Reservations:
As seating is limited, reservations are recommended: www.sfu.ca/reserve
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Upcoming Lectures and Dialogues:
Resources and the Seven Billion, Dr. William Rees, Population Ecology, UBC, Mar 7
YOU and the Seven Billion - a discussion moderated by Don White, Interdisciplinary Studies, SFU, March 14
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