circumstances which prevent this correspondence, and show how far their effect is likely to be reduced (a) by general economical progress, and (b) by the extension of the division of
- What is the law of diminishing returns? Can you point out any connection between this law and the following phenomena?—
| ( a. ) Density of population. | |
|---|---|
| ( b. ) Rate of wages. | |
| ( c. ) Rate of profits in different countries. |
- Sketch the influence on rents and profits of an increase of population and capital concurrently with a stationary state of the arts of production.
- Is there reason to believe that Mr. Mill has underrated the powers possessed by man of extending the area of production and facilitating the market of food? If such a statement has been made, to what extent is his theory of population modified, and the risks he had indicated rendered distant?
- Compare the effects on rent, profits, and wages, of a sudden improvement in the production (a) of food, (b) of some manufactured articles largely consumed by the working-classes.
- Trace the connection between Ricardo's theory of rent and the decline in the general rate of profits as a country increases in population. Explain clearly the connection which exists between wages and profits.
- What effect is produced upon rents, profits, and wages, respectively, in a country like France, where population is stationary and capital advancing?
- If capital continued to increase