THEORY OF ECONOMIC GROWTH – MALTHUSIAN TRAP

Abstract

The paper presents the theory of “Malthusian trap”, according to which the population is trapped in the intersection of the two laws. He found that the population is growing at a geometric progression and the production of food and other resources by arithmetic progression. How is the land of fixed production resource with limited food production further population growth increases hunger, disease and war. Although the theory was created almost two centuries ago and was based solely on the principles of the time, where agriculture was the main source of development, it is done today. Despite the considerable technical and technological progress in agriculture, many countries today are unconsciously experienced effect called “Malthusian trap". Fixed surface area and volume of work add newborn population leads to the law of diminishing returns per worker. Insufficient capital with low productivity in many poor countries, affecting the population to produce food for their own needs hardly let alone a surplus for the market. In these countries, agricultural production cannot follow the growth of the population and leads to famines and increased mortality rates. In contrast, developed countries that have large amounts of capital are constantly investing in the development of new technical and technological innovations in agriculture, improved cultural practices and irrigation systems, and thus a multiple increase food production. This way they managed to avoid the risk of Malthusian trap. However, new technologies, cultural practices and irrigation systems are not omnipotent. With further uncontrolled population growth and a fixed land area threatened by a real danger that the developed countries fall into Malthusian trap. Therefore, it has already taken some measures to combat this potential threat in terms of family planning, limiting the number of births of children, the fight against poverty, education, population, settling unpopulated areas and the like.