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'''Robert Thomas Malthus''' (1766-1834) was a [[British]] economist and sociologist who promoted [[classical economics]] like [[Adam Smith]].   

'''Robert Thomas Malthus''' (1766-1834) was a [[British]] economist and sociologist who promoted [[classical economics]] like [[Adam Smith]].   

But he was so pessimistic that the entire field of economics is called "the dismal science," where failure and collapse of the economy is supposed to be inevitable.  Malthus insisted that population increases by the geometric ratio but the means of subsistence only increases by the arithmetic ratio, and thus population will always be constrained by the food supply, with famine being a primary check to population growth. Malthus's model, however, was not supported by empirical data, primarily because he failed to account for technological growth in the production of food, as well as the [[income effect]] acting to slow down population growth.

Malthus referred to the study of economics as "the dismal science," believing that the failure and collapse of the economy was inevitable.  Malthus insisted that while population increased by a geometric ratio, the means of subsistence only increased by an arithmetic ratio. Thus, population would always be constrained by the food supply, with famine being a primary check to population growth. Malthus's model, however, was not supported by empirical data, primarily because he failed to account for technological growth in the production of food, as well as the [[income effect]] acting to slow down population growth.

*Thomas Malthus ... predicted in 1789 that the planet's rapid increase in population would soon outstrip the planet's ability to produce food resulting in massive worldwide [[starvation]]. Of course, Malthus' predicted famine never materialized. He could not have predicted the [[industrial revolution]] nor the enormous impact of subsequent technological innovations would have on our ability to produce food. [http://www.nationalcenter.org/dos7130.htm]

*Thomas Malthus ... predicted in 1789 that the planet's rapid increase in population would soon outstrip the planet's ability to produce food resulting in massive worldwide [[starvation]]. Of course, Malthus' predicted famine never materialized. He could not have predicted the [[industrial revolution]] nor the enormous impact of subsequent technological innovations would have on our ability to produce food. [http://www.nationalcenter.org/dos7130.htm]

[[Category:Economists|Malthus, Thomas]]

[[Category:Economists|Malthus, Thomas]]