Summary of Vaclav Smil's Numbers Don't Lie

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 The most obvious physical constraint on fertility is the length of the fertile period, which has been decreasing from about 17 years in preindustrial societies to less than 13 years in today’s Western world.

#2 The shift from high to low fertility took about two centuries in Denmark and 170 years in Sweden. No country has been able to stop the fertility decline at the replacement level and achieve a stationary population.

#3 The most common measure of human quality of life is the gross domestic product per capita, but this does not take into account economic inequality or the social net available to disadvantaged families. I prefer to use the Human Development Index, which combines life expectancy at birth and educational achievements with the gross national income per capita.

#4 The lowest infant mortality rates are found in small, homogeneous societies with very low birth rates. It is difficult to maintain low infant mortalities in larger, heterogeneous societies with high rates of immigration from less affluent countries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669356141

IRB Media

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Insights on Vaclav Smil's Numbers Don't Lie

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The most obvious physical constraint on fertility is the length of the fertile period, which has been decreasing from about 17 years in preindustrial societies to less than 13 years in today’s Western world.

#2

The shift from high to low fertility took about two centuries in Denmark and 170 years in Sweden. No country has been able to stop the fertility decline at the replacement level and achieve a stationary population.

#3

The most common measure of human quality of life is the gross domestic product per capita, but this does not take into account economic inequality or the social net available to disadvantaged families. I prefer to use the Human Development Index, which combines life expectancy at birth and educational achievements with the gross national income per capita.

#4

The lowest infant mortality rates are found in small, homogeneous societies with very low birth rates. It is difficult to maintain low infant mortalities in larger, heterogeneous societies with high rates of immigration from less affluent countries.

#5

The benefit-cost ratio of vaccination is extremely high. For every dollar spent on vaccination, $16 is expected to be saved in healthcare costs and the lost wages and productivity caused by illness and death.

#6

The case fatality rate is the number of confirmed deaths associated with a virus divided by the number of cases. The most common approach is to calculate the case fatality risk: confirmed deaths associated with a virus are