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What is the major cause of population growth for Malthus?
- 1. Biological factors
- 2. Resource limitations
- -View of reproductive behavior: Powerful instinct, the natural urge to reproduce the species as long as there is enough food available.
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What are the different checks on population growth according to Malthus?
- 1. Positive checks
- -Wars, natural disaster, famines
- 2. Preventive checks
- -Preventive checks are moral restraints like postponing marriage.
- -Postponing Sexual Intercourse (he was pessimistic, people would practice this)
- 3.Ultimate check
- -Lack of food
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What is the consequence of population growth for Malthus?
Poverty
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What is the "natural law of population"?
- Natural Law of Population
- - he believe people will have children as long as they have food and there are too many people for the available food supply and thus poverty
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Are Malthus’s arguments about the causes and consequences of population growth empirically correct?
- -Wrong that more food will lead people to have more children
- -But as seen from now, improved standard of livings is an incentive for people to have fewer children
- -Under estimate growth of food supply
- -Human innovation, green revolution dramatically increase agricultural production and food supply
- -Naturalizes poverty
- -Disregards issues of unequal distribution of wealth
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What are the policy implications of Malthus’s theory?
- -against birth control
- -against public support for the poor
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