This document summarizes key concepts related to population geography: 1) It defines a Lorenz curve and describes the line labeled L as representing perfectly even distribution of population density. 2) It defines carrying capacity as the maximum population an environment can support and describes three types: constant, falling, and rising. 3) It defines population doubling time as the number of years it will take for a country's population to double in size. 4) It compares the views of Thomas Malthus and Esther Boserup on the relationship between population growth and food supply, with Malthus believing population would outpace food growth while Boserup argued population would stimulate technological advances to increase food production.

1. CAPE 2009 GEOGRAPHY P2-UNIT 1 #2 Monday, March 07, 2011
a)
i) Name the graph shown in Figure 1. [1 mark]
The graph shown in Figure 1 is a Lorenz Curve.
ii) Describe the distribution illustrated by the line labeled L. [3 marks]
The line labeled L represents perfectly even distribution. This means at any point along the
lime L would be equal to the percentage of area and percentage of population. Along this line
population density is the same throughout the land mass e.g. Barbados.
b) Define
i) Carrying capacity- [3 marks]
The carrying capacity is the number of people that can live in any given environment. It
is the maximum number of people that can be supported by a given area. There are three types of
carrying capacity, namely, constant carrying capacity, falling carrying capacity and rising
carrying capacity.
The constant carrying capacity implies that there is an upper limit of resources and output
against which population presses. It is a Malthusian view.
The falling carrying capacity implies that resource depletion and degradation will cause
the population to decline. It illustrates gloomy predictions of the Club of Rome.
The rising carrying capacity implies that technical innovation and the discovery of new
resources will match population growth. It is essentially an optimistic view based on the ideas of
Boserup.
ii) Population doubling time- [3 marks]
Population doubling time is the likely number of years in which a country will take to
double its population.

2. CAPE 2009 GEOGRAPHY P2-UNIT 1 #2 Monday, March 07, 2011
c) Write an essay comparing the views of Thomas Malthus and Esther Boserup on the
relationship of population growth to food supplies. [20 marks]
Views on population growth and food supplies can be divided into pessimistic and
optimistic. Pessimists believe that overpopulation will lead to catastrophe and famine. These
views were based on the ideas of Thomas Malthus. Optimists believe that population growth will
stabilize and that technology will overcome problems of hunger. These views were expressed
byEsther Boserup.
Thomas Malthus was a British demographer who believed that population increases
exponentially, at a geometric rate i.e. 1-2-4-8-16. At the same time, he believed that the limited
amount of land available means that food supply can only increase at an arithmetic rate i.e. 1-2-
3-4-5. The outcome therefore will mean that population will overcome food supply. Malthus
suggested once this is reached, further growth in population would be curbed by negative and
positive checks. Negative checks were methods of limiting population growth and included
abstinence or a postponement of marriage. Positive checks were ways in which the population
would be reduced in size by events such as war, famine and disease which would increase
mortality rate and reduce life expectancy. Famine, disease and civil war in sub-Sahara Africa are
said to demonstrate evidence of Malthusian ‘checks’.
In direct contrast, Esther Boserup stated that population pressure is a stimulus to
technological change in agriculture. Boserup was a Danish economist who put forward an
alternative theory to that of Malthus. Being an optimist, Boserup suggested that resources are not
fixed in quantity as Malthus stated, however, it is discovered, invented and created by human
ingenuity. She believed that people have the resources of knowledge and technology to increase
food production. Whereas Malthus thought that food supply limited population size, Boserup
suggested that in a pre-industrial society, an increase in population brought about a change in
agricultural techniques so that more food can be produced. Boserup refuted the positive and
negative checks which Malthus stated and instead focused on the growth of population leading to
agricultural development and growth of the food supply. She assumed that people knew of the
techniques required by more intensive systems and used them when population grew. Perhaps
the best evidence to support Boserup’s views is the Green Revolution in which High Yielding
Varieties (HYVs) are produced in places where population growth is high e.g. India.
In retrospect, the views put forward by the pessimistic Malthus and optimistic Boserup
differ in their approach to population growth. Boserup supported the growth in population with
increased innovation in food production whereas Malthus simply held the view that further
growth in population above the ‘ceiling’ would be curbed by the Malthusian catastrophe.