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Corn and Crisis: Malthus on the High Price of Provisions

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  • E. A. Wrigley

Abstract

In 1799 Malthus spent six months in Scandinavia. There he witnessed the extreme deprivation, misery, and mortality that were once the common accompaniments of a bad harvest. On his return to England he found that the topic of the day was the exceptionally high price of bread, which threatened both political turmoil and human suffering. In the event, suffering even among the very poor was far less than in Sweden, though the increase in the price of the chief bread grain was greater. Malthus was intrigued by this apparent paradox. In An investigation of the cause of the present high price of provisions, published in 1800, he resolved it using arguments similar to those developed recently by Amartya Sen in his exposition of the concept of “entitlements.” In spite of his principled opposition to the poor laws, Malthus conceded that their effectiveness in transfering purchasing power to those most in need was a major reason for the limited impact of the dearth.

Suggested Citation

  • E. A. Wrigley, 1999. "Corn and Crisis: Malthus on the High Price of Provisions," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 25(1), pages 121-128, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:popdev:v:25:y:1999:i:1:p:121-128
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.1999.00121.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Besomi, Daniele, 2007. "Mentor Bouniatian on cycles and equilibrium," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 120-143, March.
    2. Thomas Nutt, 2010. "Illegitimacy, paternal financial responsibility, and the 1834 Poor Law Commission Report: the myth of the old poor law and the making of the new," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 63(2), pages 335-361, May.
    3. Philip Kreager, 2022. "Smith or Malthus? A Sea‐Change in the Concept of a Population," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(3), pages 645-688, September.

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