
A Darwinian Explanation of the Malthusian Trap [pdf] - fitzwatermellow
http://wulemin.weebly.com/uploads/1/4/6/2/14620598/jmp1110.pdf
======
kwhitefoot
> It follows that the Romans were rich not because technological progress
> temporarily exceeded population growth but because Rome had a business-
> friendly legal system and an active market economy.

This is surely widely accepted and not in the least controversial. The rule of
law in general and a functioning civil service were surely two of the defining
features of Rome that distinguished it from both its contemporaries and
successors.

------
hidroto
Abstract: This paper shows that the Malthusian mechanism alone cannot explain
the pre-industrial stagnation of living standards. Improvement in luxury
technology, if faster than improvement in subsistence technology, would have
kept living standards growing. The Malthusian trap is essentially a puzzle of
balanced growth between the luxury sector and the subsistence sector. The
author argues that balanced growth is caused by group selection in the form of
biased migration. It is proven that a tiny bit of bias in migration can
suppress a strong growth tendency. The theory re-explains the Malthusian trap
and the prosperity of ancient market economies such as Rome and Sung. It also
suggests a new set of factors triggering modern economic growth.

