Contemporary Representation
Contemporary economists summarize the simplest features of Ricardo's distribution by way of a graphical representation. In figure 7-1 we measure the size of the labor force horizontally while measuring the level of total output rent profit and wages vertically. As population and the labor force increase diminishing marginal returns within agriculture mean that total product increases at a diminishing rate. The curve Total product minus rent flattens out even faster than the Total product curve producing a growing vertical distance between the two curves. Thus total rent received by landlords rises with population. Straight line os measures total wages (measured on the vertical axis) Its constant slope reflects a constant real wage rate that remains at the subsistence level as the labor force grows. That is although total wages do rise subsistence wages remain constant.