KSLU Solved Question Papers
Economics II (old course)
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 3
2017 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 3 Economics II (old course) 2017 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 30 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2017 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2017 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Explain the effects of population explosion on economic development in India.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what population explosion means and why it happened in India (the fall in the death rate before the birth rate); India's numbers from 1951 to 2011 and the vital rates now; the effects on economic development, each explained (per capita income, saving and capital formation, food, land and agriculture, unemployment, social overheads, human capital, poverty and inequality, environment, cities, public finances); the other side, the demographic dividend; the measures needed; and a conclusion.
1. What population explosion means
Population explosion means a very rapid rise in population over a short period. It happens when the death rate falls sharply while the birth rate stays high. The gap between the two, the natural rate of growth, then widens.
This is the second stage of the demographic transition. In the first stage, both birth and death rates are high, so population grows slowly. In the second, better food, medicine and public health cut the death rate, but social customs keep the birth rate high. In the third stage the birth rate also falls, and growth slows again.
India entered the second stage after independence. Malaria control, vaccines, antibiotics and famine relief cut the death rate quickly. The birth rate fell much more slowly.
2. India's numbers
| Indicator | Figure |
|---|---|
| Population, Census 1951 | 36.11 crore |
| Population, Census 2011 | 121.09 crore |
| Growth over sixty years | more than three times |
| Fastest growth | 1961 to 1981 |
| Birth rate, 2013 to 2023 | 21.4 to 18.4 per thousand |
| Death rate, 2013 to 2023 | 7.0 to 6.4 per thousand |
| Total fertility rate, 2013 to 2023 | 2.3 to 1.9 |
The census due after 2011 has not been completed, so every later population figure is a projection. The total fertility rate of 1.9 is now below the replacement level of about 2.1. India still grows because of population momentum: the large cohorts born earlier are now having children, even if each couple has fewer.
So the explosion belongs mainly to the decades after 1951. But its effects are still with us, because the people born then are today's workforce and tomorrow's elderly.
3. Effects on economic development
1. Low per capita income. Per capita income rises only when output grows faster than population. A large part of each year's growth was used up simply feeding and housing the extra people. Growth of national income was therefore much faster than growth of income per head.
2. Low saving and capital formation. A large population of children means a high dependency ratio. In 2011, about 65 persons below 15 or above 59 depended on every 100 of working age. Families with many dependants spend most of their income on food and have little left to save. Low saving means low investment, which slows development.
3. Pressure on food supply. More mouths need more food. Before the Green Revolution, India had to import food grains. Even now, a large share of public spending goes to food subsidies for a large population.
4. Pressure on land and agriculture. India's land is fixed. As population grew, holdings were divided among heirs and became smaller and more fragmented. Too many people stayed on the land. Agriculture employs about 42.4 per cent of workers but produces only about a fifth of output. Many of these workers are in disguised unemployment: removing them would not reduce output.
5. Unemployment and underemployment. The labour force grows each year by millions of young people. Jobs in industry and services have not grown fast enough to absorb them. The result is unemployment, underemployment and a large informal sector. Self-employment is 55.8 per cent and casual labour 18.9 per cent of all employment.
6. Pressure on social overheads. Schools, hospitals, housing, drinking water, roads and public transport must all expand just to keep up. Money that could raise quality is spent on quantity.
7. Lower quality of human capital. When a family has many children, it spends less on each child's food, schooling and health. Malnutrition and early school dropout reduce the productivity of the future workforce.
8. Poverty and inequality. Poor families tend to have more children, and more children keep them poor. This feeds the vicious circle of poverty. Land, assets and income are spread thinner with each generation.
9. Damage to the environment. Forests are cleared for farms and fuel. Groundwater is overdrawn. Rivers and city air are polluted. These costs reduce future output.
10. Problems of cities. People who cannot find work in villages move to towns. Slums, traffic and shortages of water and sanitation grow faster than city services.
11. Strain on public finances. A larger population needs more spending on food, health, schooling and welfare. This leaves less for investment in roads, power and industry, which drive development.
4. A worked illustration: why growth of population eats growth of income
Suppose two economies each raise national income by 5 per cent a year. In the first, population grows by 2.5 per cent a year. In the second, it grows by 1 per cent.
| Economy with fast population growth | Economy with slow population growth | |
|---|---|---|
| Growth of national income | 5 per cent | 5 per cent |
| Growth of population | 2.5 per cent | 1 per cent |
| Growth of income per head (about) | 2.5 per cent | 4 per cent |
| Years for income per head to double (about) | 28 | 18 |
The first economy works just as hard but takes ten more years to double its living standard. This is the arithmetic behind the effect of population explosion on development. The same output is shared among more people, so less is left to save and invest, and the next year's growth is slower too.
5. The other side: the demographic dividend
A large population is a burden only when it is dependent, unskilled and unemployed. When fertility falls, the share of people of working age rises. In 2011 about 60 per cent of Indians were of working age, and the share has risen since.
If these workers are educated, healthy and employed, output per head can rise fast. This is the demographic dividend. The Economic Survey reports the unemployment rate for women falling from 5.6 per cent in 2017-18 to 3.2 per cent in 2023-24. It counts 56.2 crore people aged 15 and above in work.
The window is not permanent. When today's large cohorts reach old age, the dependency ratio will rise again, and old-age dependency is costlier than child dependency.
| A large population as a burden | A large population as an asset |
|---|---|
| Many children and old people to support | A large share of working age |
| Low skills and poor health | Educated and healthy workers |
| Few jobs, much disguised unemployment | Jobs in industry and services |
| Low saving and investment | Rising saving as income rises |
6. Measures needed
- Education, above all of girls. Educated women marry later and have fewer, healthier children. Literacy rose from 18.3 per cent in 1951 to 73.0 per cent in 2011.
- Health care for mothers and children. When fewer infants die, parents choose fewer births. Infant mortality fell from 40 to 25 per thousand between 2013 and 2023.
- Voluntary family planning with easy access to methods and information.
- Jobs outside agriculture, in manufacturing and services, to absorb the young labour force.
- Skills and training, so that new workers can earn more.
- Social security for old age, so that parents do not rely on many children for support.
Conclusion. Population explosion in India followed the fall in the death rate after 1951, while the birth rate fell slowly. Population more than tripled, to 121.09 crore by 2011. It held back development by reducing income per head and saving, and by pressing on food, land and jobs. It also strained social services, human capital, the environment and public finances. Fertility has now fallen below replacement, so the question has changed. Whether the large working-age population becomes a dividend or a burden depends on education, health and the creation of productive jobs.
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