JAMB Economics 1978 Question 7

Question 7

Population

Malthus became famous through his theory which may be stated simply

  1. A.the death rate may become so high that people may not be able to produce
  2. B.population may outgrow the means of subsistence
  3. C.people will eventually decide not to have children
  4. D.migration of people from one place to another may leave some parts of the world barren
  5. E.all of the above.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B (population may outgrow the means of subsistence)

Explanation

Malthus argued that population grows faster (geometrically) than food supply (arithmetically), so population may outgrow the means of subsistence.