The interaction between the human population and the agricultural produce as well as economic development is complex and has sparked several theoretical debates throughout history. One such debate has been the deviance of the industrial revolution from the Malthusian trap (Stroup, 2020). The Malthusian trap is a concept that Thomas Robert Malthus put forward in the year 1798 (Montagner, 2020). The theory argues that with the surplus production of grains in agriculture, an increase in population will be observed (Reisman, 2018). As the population will increase in the community, food shortages are likely to emerge as the growing population will overtake the agricultural produce, eventually resulting in a trap between population increase and produce an increase in agriculture (Hertler et al., 2018). However, this was not observed when the Industrial Revolution took place in England, and this demanded a new analysis of economic growth, population dynamics, and agricultural produce (Stone, 2021). This paper will highlight how the current understanding of economic development has been associated with population change. In addition, this paper will also highlight how the industrial revolution escaped the Malthusian trap with an evidence-based approach.
The aim of this study is to analyse the relationship between economic development and population change and to understand how the Industrial Revolution in England escaped this trap. This aim will be fulfilled by the accomplishment of the following objectives:
The literature for studying the established aim, a systematic approach was used. Resources were collected from the literature databases such as Elsevier, JStor, SCOPUS, and Google scholar and were analysed for further assessment. The inclusion criteria for the study included a selection of research published in peer-reviewed journals and available in the English language. In addition, research published in the last ten years were only included in this study. The findings of the literature can thus be categorised into two major themes, that include economic development and population and assessment of the development of the industrial revolution that helped it in escaping the Malthusian trap. The same will be discussed through an evidence-based approach.
Population growth is associated with a negative impact on the growth of the country. The initial philosophical footprint asserted that population growth is negatively associated with economic developments and is a factor associated with retardation in economic growth (Simon, 2019). Adam Smith, one of the key contributors to the capitalistic economy, also asserted the wealth of the country with its population growth (Bakirtas & Akpolat, 2018). However, the primary conceptualisation between the two components was put forward by Malthus in his work “essay on the principle of population”. However, this work was heavily critiqued by thinkers like Karl Marx and Engels, who were proponents of the idea of prometheanism, that is, possession of belief that technology can overcome the ecological barriers (Heilbroner, 2011).
The discussion on economic growth and population change has thus been associated with multiple debates and connotations throughout history (Roncaglia, 2017). Population growth has been associated with the increase in the labour force and thus can play an essential role in stimulating economic growth (Simon, 2019). Therefore, a large labour force can give rise to greater productive manpower and a larger population increase for consumers in the domestic market. However, this relationship cannot be seen in absolute and is associated with several factors that impact the economic growth and development along with demographic shifts in the population (Reisman, 2018). Population growth is associated with worsening of the living standards of the population due to the limited availability of resources (Heilbroner, 2011). This may eventually result in a risk of the Malthusian trap where the limited number of resources and fight for them with greater population size may result in scarcity. A seminal study was published by Julian Simon that aimed to assess the statistical relationship between population and the per capita economic growth of the population. The results indicated that there existed long-term positive effects with the greater population sizes for economic growth (Tisdell & Svizzero, 2020).
A systematic assessment of the factors has now been understood in greater detail. This highlights the role of a factor of “age” in association with the economic growth of the population (Madsen et al., 2019). As the fertility rates decline in the population over a sustained period of time, the age of the working population moves towards ageing. This demands that economic development is then driven by the younger generations, and this can create a window of opportunity for a nation to enhance its savings and also to further its investments (Lüger, 2018). This phenomenon has now been known as the “demographic dividend”. The relationship between economic development and population growth is co-dependent. The population growth thus impacts the economic development in the region, whereas economic development in the region also directly impacts the population dynamics and population growth (Koetsier, 2019). Overall, it can be asserted that the quality of life of the individuals as well as the economic development of the companies. In the context of Britain, a second population revolution was observed. In Europe, the population had doubled during the 18th Century from about a hundred million to about two hundred million (Madsen et al., 2019). This implied that there was a greater risk of the country dropping in to the Malthusian trap. However, this did not take place.
While multiple negative connotations have been associated with the incidence of the Industrial revolution in terms of social structures, however, it was only through the industrial revolution that the Malthusian trap was broken that could have impacted England severely (Harley, 2018). The poor living conditions of the masses had emerged as a pervasive reality of the individuals throughout history that needed an effective intervention for improved living conditions. Malthus has predicted the contradiction between population growth and economic surplus with the shortages of the resources that existed in the limited form in the society (Mokyr, 2018). This was broken through the industrial revolution through improved efficiency in the process of production was accelerated. This resulted in the sufficient growth of the services and resources in conjunction with the population growth and thus contributed towards the increase in the average income levels. The industrial revolution was the reason for the social change in Britain and for improving the quality of life of individuals in the region (Madsen et al., 2019). With the introduction of industrialisation and the industrial revolution, new factories had emerged in the country, and new jobs were available in the region (Griffin, 2018). This resulted in an increase in the wages of the workers, and this stopped the Malthusian catastrophe. These three primary factors that have been identified with the industrial revolution and the ending of the Malthusian trap in England include improved efficiency of the produced goods in the region, agricultural revolution, and enclosure movements. Before the industrial revolution, labour was dependent on manual labour (Madsen et al., 2019). The bourgeoisie had laid its foundations on the higher profits and on reduction of the costs to ensure the same. Hence, the machines were used and applied in industries giving rise to an industrial revolution (Madsen et al., 2019). The use of machines enhanced the efficiency of production of goods and accelerated production, and lowered the costs of the services. Some primary inventions such as engines and telephones were direct products as well as the drivers of the industrial revolution resulting in improved industrial working efficiencies (Madsen et al., 2019). This was also accelerated through the steady increase of coal that was used to fuel the industries. Hence, the role of improved efficiency in the production of goods was the primary factor preventing the incidence of the Malthusian trap (Koetsier, 2019).
The role of the agricultural revolution has also been regarded to be of prime significance in context with the industrial revolution and in the prevention of the Malthusian catastrophe. It was through the agricultural revolution that a massive increase in agricultural productivity was observed in the region. Great Britain was largely based on agriculture, and before the industrial revolution, agricultural produce was the primary source of income for the country, being the primary source of income for bout seventy-five per cent of the population in the region (Madsen et al., 2019). The produce and availability of agricultural resources were facilitated through the use of techniques such as breeding, crop rotation and the use of machines in the process of agricultural development. This helped in enhancing the agricultural produce of the region and thus enhanced the overall outcomes of the industrial revolution as well (Lüger, 2018). One of the primary arguments of Malthus was the limited availability of resources resulting in the shortages and scarcity for the ever-growing population shifting people to a trap of poverty that was overcome by the efforts of the agricultural revolution (Koetsier, 2019). This ensured that as the population of Britain grew and contributed towards the further industrial and economic growth of the region, surplus grains and food was available to sustain them, abolishing the risk of food shortages and starvation (Lüger, 2018).
The third primary factor that contributed towards the effective development of Britain and overcoming of the Malthusian trap in Britain was the enclosure movement. The enclosure movement happened before the introduction of the industrial revolution in the region, and was it was through this movement that the land and property could now be managed privately (Lüger, 2018). A communal idea of property was abolished, and the land was available for individual or private development. This allowed the landlords to make more judicious and effective use of the land that was available and facilitate the application of techniques associated with the industrial and agricultural revolution (Madsen et al., 2019). Since the enclosure movement was successful, a large section of the farming population migrated to the cities and was thus able to transform itself into the working-class population of the industrial systems. This ensured improved economic conditions and better access to resources (Madsen et al., 2019). Therefore, the enclosure movement emerged as a facilitator of the industrial revolution, ensuring the availability of a workforce in Britain for improved outcomes, thus also helping in escaping the Malthusian trap (Griffin, 2018).
Therefore, it can be asserted that Britain was able to overcome the Malthusian trap not because of the one sole reason but was able to achieve it through the combination of several factors. These included improved efficiency in the production achieved through the industrial revolution, improved agricultural due to availability of machinery and new technologies and the availability of private lands for the production of agriculture. This thus ensured that the overall industrial development of Britain was possible, and the country did not fall into a Malthusian trap even with high population rates in the region.
Conclusion
The debate over the relationship between economic development and population growth has been one of the key aspects of economics discourse. This paper presents a brief analysis aimed to assess the relationship between economic development and population change and to understand how the Industrial Revolution in England escaped this trap. This paper has followed an evidence-based approach with a systematic collection of literature and thematic analysis to reach an inferential conclusion. Through this analysis, it can be concluded that the industrial revolution alone was not the prime factor associated with escape from the Malthusian trap in England but was also facilitated with the agricultural revolution and the enclosure movement that ensured availability of land and food resources for the working population allowing the country to escape the Malthusian catastrophe. Hence, it was through multiple events and contexts in the 18th century that led to industrial growth of England and prevented it from the Malthusian trap.
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