ABSTRACT
This paper investigates the potency of increasing population on economic development in Nigeria hinging the background of analysis on Malthusian population theory. It is important to emphasize that while Malthus believes that increase in population leads to underdevelopment, other economists like Marx and Engels see it otherwise especially with regards to socialist and capitalist economies. Using the Vector Error Correction (VEC) Mechanism to estimate a time series covering a 31-year period of 1982 – 2012, the study found out that population growth has no significant impact on economic development in Nigeria within the study period – giving credence to the theoretical underpinning. The study recommends among others that the government should embark on enlightening campaigns to intimate the populace on the dangers of overpopulation and its attendant consequences. In addition, the continuous benefits of modernization in terms of improved health care services and other social securities should be made available to the populace, the majority whom are poverty stricken. Finally, the pursuit of diversifying the economy should be relentless, so that the channels of stimulating growth and development will not be neglected.
This work tests the efficiency of population growth on economic development in 10 poor countries based on Malthusian Population Theory. Malthus proposes the principle that human populations grow geometrically, while food production rises with an