Sample Essay – Malthusian Theory

Reverand Thomas Malthus suggested a theory explaining how economic development is related to growing population while highlighting his concerns in an essay written in 1798. However, this theory could be deemed obsolete for developed countries while related to developing countries (Todaro and Smith 309).

He devised a universal theory for population suggesting a twofold increase every thirty to forty years. At the same time, as population rises, each person’s marginal contribution towards food production is expected to decline in terms of diminishing returns related to land and food.

Malthusian Theory

Similarly, due to rising population levels, the population could be expected to be present just above the subsistence level as Malthus suggested. It is because of this reason that per capita income is expected to decline since the rise in food production would not be able to match the rising levels of population. Therefore, he indirectly suggested for birth control.

The term ‘subsistence levels of income’ is often coined by economists as ‘Malthusian Population Trap’. This theory has been broken down into various stages of population growth where it is expected to have a stable population at the lowest levels of income per capita (absolute poverty). At this stage, the death rates are assumed to be equal to death rates.

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