Principles of Macroeconomics / Unit 16 MAC 1508 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Malthusian Trap
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The idea
Malthus argued in 1798 that population grows exponentially while food production rises by a constant amount, so requirements must eventually overtake supply and starvation becomes the check on population.
In practice
The argument rests on diminishing returns to labour on a fixed quantity of land.
Where people slip
It did not happen in the economies that industrialised, and the next entry says why.
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