The following figure is an index (base 1850) of average real wages of skilled workers in London between 1264 and 2001. Based on this information, which of the following statements is correct? Real wage index (1850-100) 800 700 600 500- 400- 300 200 100- Malthusian trap mm Escape 04 1260 1334 1408 1482 1556 1630 1704 1778 1852 1926 2000 Smith Malthus The shape of the graph would be the same even if a different year was used as the base year. London was able to escape from the Malthusian trap by reducing its population growth rate. Some of the rapid rise in wages depicted can be attributed to inflation. Malthus was incorrect in his assessment of the historical data.