Theory 43/Terraces/Rate lens
Abandonment Follows Labour Cost
The claim
Terrace abandonment rate is set by the rate of change in labour cost rather than by the absolute cost, so slow increases are absorbed and fast ones are not.
01Mechanism
Maintenance requires continuous labour; when the cost rises faster than the terrace can be made productive, abandonment follows.
02Prediction
Abandonment should track the rate of change.
03Refutation
Abandonment tracking cost level would remove the rate.