ABSTRACT
It has been proposed that perception of scarcity triggers sociocultural adjustments which have the effect of bringing population numbers into balance with the carrying capacity of the environment. Adjustments may be made either on the population or the resources side of the equation, but concern is only with the mechanisms that affect population size. Scarcity is the "independent variables" of the proposed homeostatic model. If the model is correct, the scarcity indicators should be found in association with belief systems, rules, and behavior which have the direct or latent effect of limiting natural increase; and occasionally, restriction in desire for children. The chapter attempts to indicate the complexities associated with assessing a given society's level of perceiving scarcity, but has also indicated objectively measurable events or conditions which have traditionally been used as indices of scarcity in a society. It is proposed to take any mix of these objective events as signs of subjectively perceived scarcity in any given society.
