Population: cause or consequence of economic change?

There are some theories to explain how the population is related to the economic change. We are going to expose two theories: the pessimist, from Malthus, and the optimist, from Boserup.

Thomas Malthus (1766 - 1834): the main ideas about their theory are included on "an essay on the principle of population" where the malthusian trap is the base of his principles:

"Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio. A slight acquaintance with numbers will shew the immensity of the first power in comparison of the second."

The population grows steadily whenever there are resources, however the productivity could be increased whenever the law of diminishing returns allows it.

To explain this, the author uses two factors: land and work.

The main critique to this theory is that the author does not take into consideration neither the technology nor the demographic changes that could have any kind of consequence on technology or production.

Ester Boserup (1910 - 1999): The production could be increased as an answer to a demographic growing.  In a following step, the jump from a small society to another big one will be determined by resources increase, at consequence, the population could increase more.

Her arguments are defended through the scale economics that appears when the population grows. The scale economics allows to develop the specialization and the trade.

However with this growth, it appears a unequal distribution of incomes.  There is more habitants by area.  As consequence the value of the land will be increased, and the propietaries of land will have more incomes.

Bibliography:

Cameron R. (1992).  Historia Económica Mundial.  Alianza.  Capítulo 1.

North, D.C.,  y Tomas, R.P. (1989).  El nacimiento del mundo occidental.  Una nueva historia económica (900-1700).  Capítulos 1 y 2.