TY - JOUR
T1 - Malthusian Models and Irish History
AU - Mokyr, Joel
N1 - Funding Information:
The author is Associate Professor of Economics, Northwestern University, and Visiting Associate Professor of Economics, Stanford University. The research for this paper was funded by the National Science Foundation, Grant SOC78-06710. The comments and suggestions of Louis P. Cain, Elizabeth Hoffman, and Paul Zawa are acknowledged.
PY - 1980
Y1 - 1980
N2 - Malthusian models occupy a central position in the interpretation and analysis of long-term economic and demographic change in preindustrial societies. The models are logically plausible and attractive, but ultimately they will have to be confronted with systematic evidence before being accepted. In this paper results are reported that cast some doubt on these models in the case of prefamine Ireland. The results indicate that the evidence supporting Malthusian views is not strong, and that the modus operandi of the nexus between economic and demographic variables is probably far more complex than is implied in standard Malthusian models.
AB - Malthusian models occupy a central position in the interpretation and analysis of long-term economic and demographic change in preindustrial societies. The models are logically plausible and attractive, but ultimately they will have to be confronted with systematic evidence before being accepted. In this paper results are reported that cast some doubt on these models in the case of prefamine Ireland. The results indicate that the evidence supporting Malthusian views is not strong, and that the modus operandi of the nexus between economic and demographic variables is probably far more complex than is implied in standard Malthusian models.
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U2 - 10.1017/S0022050700104681
DO - 10.1017/S0022050700104681
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0019173111
VL - 40
SP - 159
EP - 166
JO - Journal of Economic History
JF - Journal of Economic History
SN - 0022-0507
IS - 1
ER -