Thomas Robert Malthus 1766-1834

Malthusian Theory on Population

 Thomas Robert Malthus
1766-1834

• Nationality: British
• Educated at Jesus College Cambridge
• 1793 appointed to a fellowship at Jesus College
• 1798 - 1st Edition of Essay on Population
• 1803 - 2nd Edition of the Essay
• Thomas Robert Malthus was the first economist
to propose a systematic theory of population.
• Professor of History and political economist
Malthus…

Malthus' theory was based on the assumption that the

power of population is much greater than the power of
the earth to provide subsistence for man. In his own
words 'passion between the sexes is an inevitable
phenomenon' hence, when unchecked, population
would grow at such a high rate that it would outstrip
food supply.

Thomas Malthus' Theory of Population that was

proposed more than two centuries ago, foretell the
problems of food shortage that the world is facing
today, due to uncontrolled increase in population.
Malthus…

Population grows geometrically….

Population exceeds carrying

capacity…

Population is kept in “check”–

preventative and/or positive
checks
 Central theme
1. Population is necessarily limited by the
means of subsistence.

2. Population invariably increases where as the

means of subsistence increase unless
prevented by some very powerful checks
3. Population increases faster than food production
i.e. Population increases in geometric
progression and food production increases in
arithmetic progression.

– Arithmetic rate (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.).

(common difference =2-1=3-2=4-3=5-4=1)

– Geometric rate (i.e. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.)

(common ratio = 2 ÷ 1= 4 ÷ 2= 8 ÷ 4= 4 )
Growth of population and food supply

Population grows faster than food, because food supply can

only grow arithmetically, for example, 1 then 2 then 3-4-5-6-7-
8 but, population grows geometrically 2-4-8-16-32-64.
4. There are two types of checks which can keep
population on a level with the means of
subsistence. They are the preventive check and
positive check

Preventive checks are applied by men - Late

marriage, self restrain(abstinence from marriage
temporarily or permanently)

Positive check are checks applied only by nature -

war, famine, extreme poverty or disease
 Malthus’ Positive Checks

Population exceeds food supply and is kept in check by

war, famine, or disease. It then drops below the food
supply. As the population recovers, so the cycle continues.
 Malthus’ preventive checks

Here, as population starts to approach the limits of the

food supply, so growth slows. Malthus says this slowing is
caused by delayed marriage.
 Criticisms
1. Undue emphasis on the limitation of the
supply of land. He couldn’t think of the
happening of agricultural revolution of the
nineteenth century
2. Malthus under estimated the importance of
industrial development and industrial
revolution and did not considered the faster
and more modes of transport.
3. His religious beliefs prevented him thinking
the possibility of the use of contraceptives.
4. In the view of his critics the geometrical and
the arithmetical argument was the weakest
point in his theory.
5. He had almost completely ignored the role
of immigration in the North American
population growth.
6. His classification of checks on population
growth in to the two categories as positive
and preventive was pointed out as “ poor
classification”