Healthcare's Impact on Demographic Rates

Steps:

• Better healthcare lowers death rates, including infant mortality, outpaced by stable or higher birth rates initially.
• This creates natural population growth as births exceed deaths.
• Declining fertility from 6.3 to 3.2 children per woman signals a shift to smaller families, common after mortality improvements.
• Overall, this reflects the demographic transition stage where health advances reduce child deaths, encouraging fewer births.

Why B is correct:

• In demographic transition theory, medical improvements first lower death rates (e.g., infant mortality) before birth rates fall, directly explaining the given trends.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: No data links healthcare to education spending changes.
• C: Population growth could boost productivity and income per worker, not decline it.
• D: Long-term aging from low fertility may shrink the working population, not increase it.

Final answer: B