CAN POPULATION BE A SOURCE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH?: A HISTORICAL LOOK AT “AT LEAST THREE-CHILD POLICY”

Demographic change theory is based on the opinion that there is a cross relation between the industrialisation and economic advancement, and birth-death rates, and that while countries are undergoing a structural change from farming into industry, both death and birth rates will get smaller. during the process, the population in working age (15-64 age group) increases while the population growth rate decreases, which is a case countries can come across once in their lives; and gives way to an unprecedented development opportunity called demographic opportunity window. this process is being experienced by the developing countries and consequently by turkey just as almost all the present developed countries used to in the past. during the process effective in economic, social and political structure, turkey may likely be to enhance income per capita and take the advantage of the economic growth through the right policies to be implemented especially in education, work force market and in health and social security system. the study carried out to this parallel aims at evaluating in an academic point of view, far from the political controversies, what effects “at least three-child policy” can produce on the process through which turkey has been passing, on which the present political party often puts emphasis and has made it a government policy. in the study, it has been concluded that in turkey between 2010-2050, the process of window of opportunity expected to cover a period of 40 years or so will be lived both at a longer period of time and with a younger population.