Question

Thomas Malthus presented a dismal forecast for man-kind, largely due to the effects of population growth.  

b. Show how the composition of output changes as a result of population growth.  

Answer 1

Malthus proposed that the population in an economy will grow geometrically but the food supply will grow arithmetically. He believed that there is a need for preventive as well as positive checks to ensure that the balance between the population growth and food supply can be maintained. The Malthusian trap would act as a check on population growth because of a shortage in the food supply.

He also believed that output always returns to the subsistence levels. A malthusian catastrophe could be a result of excessive population growth above the growth in agricultural production.