I ran a test using a custom race with no population bonus. I did not colonize any planets. I started the test after I had already pulled some population onto the first transport, thus beginning with 4.6 billion people.
Date.....Morale.....Pop.....#Inc........%Inc
1 Jan.....77%......4.6.....(.093).........2.02
8 Jan.....77%......4.693.....(.093)....1.98
...(The # incresed remained constant, while % increase fell)
15 Feb...77%.....5.158.....(.093).....1.84
...
I then tried the 100% bonus:
22 Feb...100%...5.308.....(1.5).......2.9
... (The # increased remained constant, while % fell)
8 Jun.....100%...7.408......(1.5).......2.07
...
I then went back to 88%, just for kicks and got the same # increase as before
15 Jun......88%...7.501......(.093)....1.26
22 Jun......88%...7.594......(.093)....1.22
...
Then I tried 62% morale out of curiosity
1 Jul..........62%...7.669......(.075).....(0.99)
8 Jul..........62%...7.744......(.075).....(0.98)
I'm wondering if I am missing something or is this the way the game is supposed to function?