Consider a model where any increase in a society's average income leads to population growth, which in turn tends to push the average income back down to its original, subsistence level. In this model, which of the following scenarios is most likely to result in a sustained and permanent increase in average income per person?

Innovation and Living Standards

The Pace of Progress and Economic Outcomes

The Race Between Innovation and Population

In an economic model where population growth tends to counteract gains in productivity, any technological improvement, no matter how slow or infrequent, will eventually lead to a sustained increase in average income per person.

Match each description of a society's technological and demographic conditions with its most likely long-run economic outcome.

A pre-industrial society is characterized by a stable, low average income. Any temporary increase in productivity is quickly followed by population growth, which brings the average income back down. Arrange the following events in the logical sequence that would allow this society to achieve a sustained increase in its average standard of living.

Comparing Economic Fates

Four societies are described below, each starting from a low, subsistence-level average income. In which society is a sustained, long-term increase in the average standard of living most likely to occur?

Analyzing Paths to Prosperity