Subsistence: A Bio-economic Foundation of the Malthusian Equilibrium

Konferenzbeitrag

This paper develops a bio-economic Malthusian growth model. By integrating recent research on allometric scaling, energy consumption, and ontogenetic growth we provide a model where subsistence consumption is endogenously linked to body mass and fertility. The theory admits a two-dimensional Malthusian equilibrium characterized by population density and body mass (metabolic rate) of the representative adult. As a result, the analysis allows us to examine the link between, in particular, human biology and long run income, body mass and population size. Off the steady-state we investigate the possibility of cyclical behavior of the size of a population and the size of its representative member. We also demonstrate that a take-off into sustained growth should be associated with increasing income, population size, and body mass. The increase in the latter is, however, bounded and can be viewed as convergence to a biologically determined upper limit.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Göttingen 2007 ; No. 31

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health Behavior ; Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
• Subject: Subsistence ; Nutrition ; Metabolism ; Population Growth ; Ontogenetic Growth ; Malthus ; Bioökonomik ; Bevölkerungstheorie ; Bevölkerungswachstum ; Ernährung ; Theorie ; Körpergröße

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Strulik, Holger ; Dalgaard, Carl-Johan
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Verein für Socialpolitik, Ausschuss für Entwicklungsländer
• (where): Göttingen
• (when): 2007

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/19884
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET