ABSTRACT
In Malthus' model, the limiting factor of production was land. With decreasing production per capita, that population would be at equilibrium with potential production on that limited land. Land becomes more valuable relative to Labour when more workers enter a region with a given amount of cultivable land. Technology change led to higher density populations rather than higher standards of living, so that England's living standards at the time of Malthus' writing were roughly equal to those of ancient Roman or Han Chinese living standards. The publications also came in handy at a time of privatization and neoliberalism, as it did not put emphasis on government-driven development', but on people's own capabilities. Thus, fewer people and more land apparently induce less soil and water conservation (SWC). The converse, more people and less land, led, in the Machakos case, to more SWC.
