Population Control (Review Article)

Discussions about the role of small enterprise in economicdevelopment tend to remain inconclusive partly because of the difficultyof assessing the relative importance of economic and non-economicobjectives and partly because of the dearth of factual information onwhich to base an economic calculus. It is probably true, moreover, that,because of a lack of general agreement as to the economic case for oragainst small enterprise, non-economic considerations, including somemerely romantic attitudes toward smallness and bigness, tend to exert anundue influence on public policies. There may, of course, be noclear-cut economic case. And noneconomic considerations should and willinevitably weigh significantly in policy decisions. If, however, some ofthe economic questions could be settled by more and better knowledge,these decisions could more accurately reflect the opportunity costs ofpursuing non-economic objectives.