This article examines the economic transition from a growth-oriented capitalist economy to a Steady State Economy (SSE), with particular emphasis on the role of population reduction in achieving ecological equilibrium. Drawing on Daly’s foundational framework, the paper analyses the demographic, labour market and distributional consequences of a gradual decline in population, arguing that such a decline need not produce recession or lasting social harm. Using the IPAT equation and current ecological footprint data – which show humanity’s demands running at 178 per cent of the planet’s bio-capacity – the paper estimates that sustainable world population lies in the range of 1.3 to 3.5 billion people, far below the current 8.2 billion. The paper concludes that, while voluntary population reduction is unlikely to succeed without binding international agreement, a coordinated global policy of reduced fertility remains the most viable path to long-term ecological and economic sustainability.
As the world’s preeminent greenhouse gas emitters, the United States and China are moving along increasingly divergent sustainability trajectories. Applying a political economy and demographic lens, this article contends that national emission profiles are shaped by a complex interplay of climate threat perceptions, state capacity, energy strategies and shifting attitudes toward multilateralism. While China integrates rapid renewable expansion with persistent fossil fuel reliance under a state-led developmental model, the United States has recently implemented domestic deregulation and withdrawal from international climate accords. Beyond these institutional contrasts, a paradoxical convergence in attitudes toward population growth, despite the nations’ sharply different demographic trends, is identified. Overall, the analysis advances the discourse on climate inequality and the viability of collective global climate action, highlighting how demographic dynamics and political economy jointly determine the prospects for sustainability.
Child support laws are found among most contemporary societies, yet correlational research on the demographic effects of child support remains sparse. This study compared the child support systems of 91 nations against 21 social, economic, health and environmental variables using a novel dataset and nonparametric statistical tests. Mann-Whitney and median tests revealed that robust national child support systems – equipped with a high number of enforcement mechanisms, a designated administrative agency and/or a public child support assurance program – were associated with a host of trends including lower unintended pregnancy and abortion rates, lower infant and maternal mortality rates, lower birth rates, a more educated female population and a higher ratio of women in parliament. The analysis concludes that child support is closely linked to national population metrics signifying better social welfare, gender equality and slower population growth.
Irregular migration from the Global South to the Global North has increased alongside intensifying climate stress and persistent governance failure. Existing migration frameworks often examine environmental pressures and corruption separately, limiting their capacity to explain sustained irregular migration and the limited effectiveness of deterrence-based policies. This article proposes the Wheelbarrow Motion Theory to explain how climate stress and corruption interact to generate and sustain irregular migration. A critical narrative review was conducted using peer-reviewed literature, multilateral agency reports and policy evaluations published between 2000 and 2025, with empirical illustrations drawn from Africa, Latin America and South Asia. The review shows that climate stress erodes livelihoods and coping capacity, while corruption weakens adaptation, distorts relief delivery and restricts lawful mobility pathways. When these forces interact, displacement becomes structural and resistant to containment through border enforcement alone. Predominant policy responses centred on securitisation, deportation and migration externalisation have rerouted rather than reduced migration flows. Irregular migration is best understood as the outcome of interacting climate and governance failures rather than isolated drivers. Effective mitigation requires integrated approaches that combine climate adaptation, governance reform and expanded legal mobility options, rather than deterrence-centred strategies alone.
