Economics becomes a science · 1770s–1920s
1815
Diminishing returns
Economists arguing about Britain's grain laws explain why extra effort on land yields less.
In 1815, during debates over the Corn Laws, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, Edward West and Robert Torrens all set out the law of diminishing returns: adding more labour to the same land adds less and less grain.
💡 Why it made sense then
A growing population had to be fed from limited farmland, so how much more food extra work would bring was an urgent question.
Ideas it gave us
- ⚖️ Diminishing returns
Diminishing returns means that adding more of one input, while others stay fixed, eventually adds less and less output. A tenth worker in a small kitchen adds less than the second.
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