Being isolated from markets... had its advantages as long as the population density did not exceed the carrying capacity of the land, because subsist… - John Komlos

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Being isolated from markets... had its advantages as long as the population density did not exceed the carrying capacity of the land, because subsistence peasants/farmers had little choice but to consume all of their own food output. Once they became integrated... they had to compete with other segments of the population for food, which tended to impinge on their nutritional intake...