• Economic activities all involve the use of resources and energy
• The rate at which resources & energy are used depends on two main factors:
  • The population size
  • The rate of development
• Many resources including energy sources are?finite?and non-renewable
• Each country/area has a?carrying capacity
• The population that results in the highest standard of living is the?optimum population:
  • There are not so many people or so few resources that the standard of living falls
  • There are enough people to develop the resources of the country
• Underpopulation?is when the population is too small to develop the resources effectively
• Over population?is when there are too many people or too few resources to ensure a high standard of living
• Population pressure?occurs when the population is greater than the?carrying capacity

Optimum Theory of Population

• The Earth's population will soon reach 8 billion
• Whether there are enough resources to sustain the population has been examined by different theorists

• Malthus proposed his theory in 1798
• A?pessimistic?view on the relationship between population and resources (specifically food) which states:
  • Population growth is increasing at a faster rate than food supply
  • There will be time when there is not enough food to sustain the population
  • As a result, population growth will stop as a result of a?Malthusian catastrophe?- famine, disease or war
  • These are known as?positive checks?as they increase the death rate
  • Preventative checks?are factors which decrease the birth rate
  • These?limiting factors?maintain the balance between population and resources
• Malthus's predictions were incorrect as they came before much of the technological developments which have enabled food supply to be increased
• Neo-Malthusians?today?base their views on Malthus' theory. They argue that:
  • We have now used most of the available agricultural land
  • The amount of fertile land is in decline
  • Food prices are increasing
  • The population continues to increase
• They suggest that famines are one example of how Malthusian theory has proved to be correct
• Neo-Malthusians argue that population control is essential to avoid Malthusian catastrophe

• A Danish economist, Ester Boserup put forward her theory in 1965
• An?optimistic?view of the relationship between population and resources (specifically food) which states that:
  • Population growth will stimulate developments in technology to increase food production
  • More efficient resources will be discovered/used
  • Renewable resources will replace non-renewable

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