Two perspectives on carrying capacity and population growth are examined. The first perspective, "Carrying Capacity and Rapid Population Growth: Definition, Cases, and Consequences" (Robert Muscat), explores the possible meanings of the idea of carrying capacity under developing country conditions, looks at historical and present-day cases of alleged overpopulation in relation to carrying capacity, discusses some of the systems and effects where such situations may be present, reviews some of the dynamic adaptions made by populations living under such pressures, and suggests some of the consequences for economic development and some of the options for public policy. The second perspective, "Carrying Capacity, Population Growth, and Sustainable Development (George Ledec, Robert J. A. Goodland, James W. Kirchner, Janet M. Drake), explores examples of human-induced reductions in long-term carrying capacity such as deforestation, desertification, loss of biological diversity, and pollution. The paper concludes that many developing countries have paid insufficient attention to policies to lower their population growth rates--relative to policies to expand substantially their carrying capacities--as a means of bringing population and natural resource availabilities into balance. (RSL)