CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND ¨C When it comes to identifying the causes of the two major economic problems facing the developed world ¡ª rising inequality and a slowdown in economic growth ¡ª sex is rarely mentioned. However, as far as Thomas Malthus, the original economic doomster, was concerned, the ¡°passion between the sexes¡± was central to economic malaise.
If Malthus were alive today, he would no doubt argue that the Western economy is paying the price of excessive population growth in the world¡¯s poorest economies. An increase in global labor supply exerts downward pressure on the wages of Western working classes, those with whom the world¡¯s poorest compete for jobs, raising inequality and encouraging businesses to pursue cheap labor. The result is a reduced incentive to invest and slower global growth.
Malthus¡¯ emphasis on population growth has long been brushed to one side. That¡¯s because for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, his prediction of economic stagnation did not ring true ¡ª at least in the West. Not long after he published his ¡°Essay on the Principles of Population¡± in 1798, Europe and North America entered a period of sustained economic growth. The work of the male inventors of the Victorian age was key to this growth, but it wasn¡¯t the only factor. There was something Malthus didn¡¯t bet on: the empowerment of women.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.