The Malthusian Model - Kent State University

The Malthusian Model

Output Y1

Y = (N)

Slope of line, Y1/N1, is output per capita.. As N increases, slope

diminishes

N1

Population

Lectures in Macroeconomics- Charles W. Upton

The Malthusian Model

? Developed by Thomas Robert Malthus in On Population, 1798.

The Malthusian Model

The Malthusian Model

? Developed by Thomas Robert Malthus in On Population, 1798.

? A Simplistic Model, but a guide to how economists use models.

The Malthusian Model

The Malthusian Model

? Developed by Thomas Robert Malthus in On Population, 1798.

? A Simplistic Model, but a guide to how economists use models.

? Indeed, the model is still used in many public policy discussions.

The Malthusian Model

Key Assumptions

? Resources, if they grow at all, tend to grow at an arithmetic rate.

The Malthusian Model

Key Assumptions

? Resources, if they grow at all, tend to grow at an arithmetic rate.

? Population, unchecked by famine, will grow at a geometric rate.

The Malthusian Model

A Graphical Interpretation

? Diminishing returns to proportion

? Double the number of workers, you get more output, but not twice as much

The Malthusian Model

A Graphical Interpretation

? Diminishing returns to proportion ? Population unchecked by famine grows at a

geometric rate.

? We will not attempt to measure this rate.

The Malthusian Model

A Graphical Interpretation

? Diminishing returns to proportion ? Population unchecked by famine grows at a

geometric rate. ? There is a minimum subsistence budget s.

? Again, we will not attempt to quantify this budget.

The Malthusian Model

Output

The Basic Graph

Y = (N)

The Malthusian Model

Population

The Basic Graph

Output

?The

more

people

(workers),

the

hYi=gYh(eNr)

the level of output.

?But output rises at a lower rate than population.

?That is, there is a positive but diminishing marginal physical product.

Population

The Malthusian Model

Output Y1

The Basic Graph

Y = (N)

Slope of line, Y1/N1, is output per capita.. As N increases, slope

diminishes

N1

The Malthusian Model

Population

Output

The Basic Graph

Y = (N)

S = sN

The Malthusian Model

Population

Output

The Basic Graph

Y = (N)

While the production function has a S = sNdiminishing slope, the subsistence line does not. Two cannot live as cheaply as onPeo.pulation

The Malthusian Model

Output

The Basic Graph

Y = Y(N)

S = sN

N*

The Malthusian Model

Population

Output

The Basic Graph

Y = Y(N)

S = sN

If N > N*, there is not enough food to go around; people die of famine.

N*

The Malthusian Model

Population

Output

The Basic Graph

If N ................
................

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