The dynamics of intensive cultivation

If land is uniform in quality, an increase in the demand for agricultural goods leads to the use of more intensive cultivation methods. Though Ricardo saw no difficulties in the intensification process, their existence is revealed by the possible occurrence of multiple equilibria. A general theory of intensive rent makes use of a formal parallel between land and labour to transfer properties of single-product systems without land to agricultural systems. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.