AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



returned to them in the future. In old countries 

 where there is much wealth already accumulated 

 in the various forms of capital-goods, the present 

 wants, of the wealthier classes at least, are more 

 completely satisfied, and future wants are esti- 

 mated relatively more highly than in a poor coun- 

 try where present wants are more intense. Hence 

 the amount of hire which must be paid for the use 

 of capital-goods will be smaller in wealthy coun- 

 tries than in countries where little wealth has been 

 accumulated. 



While the fact that the supply of capital-goods 

 cannot be increased without labor and the fact 

 that present goods are valued more highly than 

 future goods explain why something must be paid 

 for the use of capital-goods, these circumstances 

 do not account for the fact that men are willing 

 to pay a price for the use of capital-goods. Men 

 are willing to pay a hire for the use of capital- 

 goods because these goods aid in production. 

 The farmer can stir more ground or reap more 

 grain in a day, he can produce more goods for the 

 market in a year, when he uses plows, reapers, 

 horses, etc., than when he labors unaided by these. 



These then are the forces and conditions which 

 lie behind the supply of and the demand for capi- 

 tal-goods, and which regulate the amount of hire 

 which is paid for their use. The greater the op- 

 portunities for gaining a profit by employing 

 them, the greater will be the demand for capital- 



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