Stigler on Malthus: A Note

Bryan Boulier and Jack W. Wilson

Journal of the History of Economic Thought, 1987, vol. 9, issue 1, 95-95

Abstract: In an essay on “The Ricardian Theory of Value and Distribution,” Stigler, commenting on Malthus' example of a geometrically increasing population and arithmetically increasing output, states the following:“… Malthus' ratios implicitly assumed sharply diminishing returns, for his numbers define the production function,L = 2p-1where L is labor (proportional to population) and P is produce. With this production function, indeed, if workers received a wage equal to their marginal product, the aggregate wage bill would be independent of the size of the labor force, and population simply could not grow!”

Date: 1987
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