Chapter 21: The Supply of Labor

1. Has the principle of the survival of the fittest any influence on the population of America?

2. What limits the number of wild rabbits? Of tame pigeons? Do the same influences act in the case of men?

3. What other influences affect population?

4. What relation is there between population and mountains, temperature and water-supply?

5. It has been said that the supply of labor is fixed by biologic laws. Is it therefore not subject to economic influences?

6. What application do you think the principle of diminishing returns has to the question of population?

7. What is meant by the standard of life?

NOTE.--The subject of population generally is discussed
under the name of "The Malthusian Doctrine" and much space
is given to it in the texts. So much useless controversy
has been occasioned by the ambiguities of Malthus's
argument that it seemed best not to introduce this
difficulty into the text. The subject is discussed with
broadest view by A. T. Hadley, _Economics_, Secs. 47-60.
The writer attempted to make a judicial study of Malthus
and his work in _Versuch einer Bevölkerungslehre_, Jena,
1894, and sought to put the discussion on higher ground in
an article in the _Yale Review_, August, 1898, "The Essay
of Malthus, a Centennial Review."