Question

Explain Malthus' theory of the relationship between the size of the population and living standards over time. Explain why his theory appears to be wrong for the developed world.

Answer 1

According to the Malthusian theory, the population grows exponentially while the food supply grows arithmetically. Any increase in food supply will be eliminated by increase in the size of the population. Therefore, with population increase, the standard of living will decline due to elimination of any surplus food by the fast growing population. In the long run, everyone will die due to scarcity of food. Therefore, there is a negative relationship between population growth and standard of living. In the developed world, it has been observed that despite the rapid increase in population, the standard of living has also consistently improved due to technological advances . Therefore, the Malthusian theory appears to be wrong in developed countries.