The first time diminishing returns was written about appears to be from Jacques Turgot in the mid-1700s. Since then, many other economists have written about the topic. These include Thomas Robert Malthus, David Ricardo, and James Anderson. Many classical economists believed the principle of diminishing returns was related to a decrease in the input quality. Malthus even went so far as to include this concept in his population theory. He stated that the population would outgrow the food supply, and many people would die of disease and famine as a result of the diminishing marginal returns. None of his predictions came true thanks to advances in technology, especially as the advances relate to food production, transportation, and storage.
The first time diminishing returns was written about appears to be from Jacques Turgot in the mid-1700s. Since then, many other economists have written about the topic. These include Thomas Robert Malthus, David Ricardo, and James Anderson. Many classical economists believed the principle of diminishing returns was related to a decrease in the input quality. Malthus even went so far as to include this concept in his population theory. He stated that the population would outgrow the food supply, and many people would die of disease and famine as a result of the diminishing marginal returns. None of his predictions came true thanks to advances in technology, especially as the advances relate to food production, transportation, and storage.