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Malthus Model
Thomas Malthus Model
Thomas Malthus authored the Malthusian growth model or the exponential growth model, one of the earliest and significant theories on population growth. This model is based on a mathematical proposition that population increased by a fixed proportion over any given period of time in the absence of constraints. Therefore, if the population increased from 1000 to 1200 over a certain number of years, then a population of 10,000 will increase to 12,000 during the same period. In other words, population grows at a constant rate every year. He described that the population will check itself and will not grow beyond the subsistence level and the birth rate will be fairly equal to the death rate. This is because when population increased beyond a certain level, the resources required to provide food will not increase and therefore, this will result in famine and starvation that will automatically bring down the population. So, he predicted there will be no catastrophe due to the explosion of human population.
Application to current population studies
The Malthusian growth model is not applicable in today's population studies because some of the factors that led to population explosion were not accounted by Malthus. While it is true that in the poorest of nations, the population is held in check because of starvation and other factors such...
In advanced nations, the scenario is quite different. These countries have used economic growth and technology to provide a better quality of life for its people and these factors were not taken into account by Malthus when he devised this model.
The advanced countries are able to produce more drought-resistant and pest-resistant varieties of food to meet the growing population and so, his theory that population will be in check due to the lack of food does not hold good today. Other technological advancements such as improvements in communication and weather have reduced the death rate. Advancements in medicine have improved the life-span of people and they are able to overcome numerous diseases and live for a longer period of time. All this has led to a boom in population growth that is heading for a catastrophe unless measures are taken to control it. Due to these reasons, Malthusian theory is not applicable to current population studies.
The only place where this theory still holds good is the sub-saharan Africa where people are dying in large numbers due to starvation, famine, drought and war. Technology has not come to these places yet and so, hunger and poverty keeps the population in check. This theory has lost its relevance to other countries and when technology reaches out to these parts of Africa,…
References
Cyrus Chu, C.Y; Tai, Ching. "Ecosystem resilience, specialized adaptation and population decline: A modern Malthusian theory." Journal of Population Economics. May 2001: 7.
Morton, John; Shaw, Jane; Stroup, Richard. "Overpopulation: Where Malthus Went Wrong?" Social Education. October 1997: 342-46.
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