An interpretation of the modern rise of population in Europe

Abstract

This paper has two aims. One is to outline an interpretation of the modern rise of population, based on the experience of England and Wales. This interpretation¹ was derived from investigations of population growth in the eighteenth² and nineteenth centuries³ undertaken, it seems to us in restrospect, in the wrong order. The other aim is to examine the credibility of the interpretation in the light of the different circumstances which existed in four other European countries: Sweden, France, Ireland and Hungary. These countries were chosen because they differ considerably from England and Wales and from one another in such important respects as the period and rate of population growth, the levels of birth rate and death rate and the timing of agricultural and industrial development. It is an exacting test of an hypothesis to enquire whether it can be accepted, if necessary with modifications and reservations, under such different conditions.