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The article comments on the development of the social sciences in Poland. The organization of periodicals is always linked with the structure of scientific institutions. This also holds true in Poland, and it is therefore useful to sketch the organization structure of the social sciences in order to understand the functioning of periodicals in scientific life. Polish scientific institutions are set up in several departments. The divisions among different institutions and organizational sections shape the character and functions of social science periodicals in Poland. The periodicals published by the universities and the Polish Academy of Sciences are of an academic character, i.e., they deal with theoretical studies, information on the advancement of science, methodological problems, etc. Periodicals issued by ministerial institutes which are subordinate to central institutions deal rather with practical problems, applied research in economics, sociology, psychology, social politics and the like. In turn the periodicals of scientific associations deal more with regional problems. This division is not entirely strict, for a number of periodicals devote part of their space to theoretical problems, a part to practical problems and a part to local matters.

An underlying theme in this paper is that the differences in approach in this area arise partly from the complexity of the phenomena in the real world being studied, the implications of this interrelated complexity for unbiassed and efficient estimates of the structural relations, and the problems of getting an adequate number of observations of the required form. Two distinct approaches have been used in the study of marginal and total factor productivity. One approach is to use the factor shares in national income as weights to combine the individual factor inputs to make an index of total factor input, and to use a factor's relative share to measure its marginal contribution. The second approach is to estimate the production relation from the data being used, and derive the marginal contribution of the productive factors to output from the estimated relation. The longest parts of the paper review the procedures followed to cope with the main problems in the real world, and the strengths and limitations in the two approaches. The discussion emphasizes the issues for the economy as a whole, and touches only briefly on the issues in disaggregation. Three major themes are emphasized in the conclusions to the paper. One is that many of the problems, the differences in view, and the controversies grow out of the range of interrelated issues in practical applications. A second major theme is that most of the attempts to solve particular issues by those using the factor shares approach are rather similar to those followed by researchers estimating the production relations directly. A third theme is to encourage more studies that will look at the interconnections between production relations and income distribution, from the points of view of both economic theory (and its predictions about the relevance to concrete applications) and statistical estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in many output determinants contribute to growth. An analysis of the sources of growth is an allocation of changes in output among these determinants. Total factor input and output per unit of input condense all determinants into two groupings. Misinterpretation of results is common because authors presenting either detailed or summary results often provide no complete or precise description of their classification of determinants, and readers ignore even the information provided. The classification suggested in this paper is detailed enough to bring out points at which description is required but often overlooked. Some effects of alternative estimating procedures on classification are described. The relative usefulness and practicality of possible alternative classifications also need consideration and discussion. This paper is concerned with general purpose classifications, appropriate for analysis of actual series measuring a country's total output, that are suitable for present use but will also accommodate useful detail that may later become feasible. A desirable classification will so specify determinants that (1) they both unite cause with effect and correspond to the economist's method of analysis so that his set of tools can be brought to bear; (2) they do not contribute to growth if they do not change; and (3) they conform as well as possible to practical possibility of estimation. Among several points considered fundamental are that the complete contributions of advances in knowledge and of resource reallocation each appear as an entity. They should not be dispersed among inputs or other determinants. It is less clear whether economies of scale should be a separate determinant or their contribution be dispersed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on industrialization, development or modernization. The author will start with the division of individual societies into functional sub-systems evolved by various researchers. This is an attempt to categorize aspects of social interaction in terms of the four functional imperatives which, it is postulated, all viable social systems must cater for. In sum, the decade after the end of World War II may be taken as a peak in the prestige-standing of economics. Economists were accorded considerable deference, largely because of the functional emphasis on economic problems in the post-war world; whilst at the same time the strategic status of the economist helped to sustain the narrow economic perspectives of national elites. Some of the most significant early inroads into the domination of economics can be located not so much in existing dissatisfaction with the policy tools of governments as in the academic sphere. The priority of changing emphasis was to a large extent in the hands of academic critics. Notable breaks with the dominance of almost exclusively economic interpretations of the problems of deprived nations occurred during the 1950's.

This paper discusses a problem which lies on the borderline of economics where the economist reaches the limits of his competence and the sociologist or social anthropologist may be interested to take over. In the post-war years, the impact of full employment on managerial policy was particularly marked. British management was confronted with an acute shortage of labour, made worse by what management considered particularly low standards of effort. Many firms found that action was urgently required to deal with the problem of the shortage of labour. Under increasing pressures they tried payment by results as a solution. It appears that in most firms the use of incentive schemes rests on faith in, rather than proof of, the effectiveness of financial incentives, the results expected from payment by results have acquired the status of achieved results in spite of the lack of factual proof of the achievement. Implicit in the belief in the supremacy of the financial motive is the assumption that the worker is always interested in earning more money than he is getting on time-rates. The recurrent wage-claims of the post-war years have helped to strengthen this belief nevertheless in many situations it may be unwarranted.

Presents a list of books about economics received by the periodical "Economica."

This article presents a list of books related to social sciences, received for review by the May 1962 issue of the "International Social Science Journal." Some of the books received include the following. "The Political Kingdom in Uganda," by David E. Apter, "Employment and Capital Formation in Underdeveloped Economics," by V.V. Bhatt, "Studies in Social and Financial Accounting," edited by Phyllis Dean, "El problema económico social argentino," by Enrique Bonfanti.

This paper is directed at the following question: given an incomplete set of price data relating to goods or services in some category of output for each of a number of different countries, what arithmetic should be performed on the prices to get a meaningful representation of the relative category price-levels of the countries? in the course of developing an answer to the question, some broader matters are considered and illuminated. A comparison of category price-levels for different countries is analogous to a commonly-encountered problem in many areas, that of ranking ordinally or cardinally in one dimension a group of "entities"--persons, households, firms, industries, etc.--on the basis of sets of measurements associated with the individual entities. It is this point of view which dominates the following presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is some advantage in comparing price levels using consistent methods because this gives unique results. This paper examines some available methods of consistent comparison, pointing out difficulties associated with heterogeneous data, and suggesting adaptations yielding better comparisons. Next, the problem of non-availability of price and quantity decomposition is considered. Another problem relating to non-identical lists of commodities and quality differences is tackled by using linear programming instead of regression methodology, both methods using some transformed variables. The procedure suggested is likely eventually to be useful for comparison of dissimilar countries. Computations on some Indian population groups illustrate the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to review and evaluate the concepts of estimating procedures employed in measuring capital input for use in total factor productivity estimation. Where alternative estimating procedures are used an effort is made to determine how sensitive the estimates of capital input is to each alternative. The review and critique are restricted to four estimates of the U.S. economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs the a late comer to the family of sciences, economic history has been disavowed by historians and economists alike. Its scientific character is still a matter of controversy. It is not history, claim the former. Nor is it economics, echo the latter. At best, they will call it a bad compromise of a bad history and an equally bad theory. Historiography, the Nestor of the social sciences, can look back upon a continuous tradition of more than 2,000 years. And it took nearly two centuries to develop the tools of modern economic research. Economic history did not have the time to accumulate a fund of knowledge comparable to that of its wealthy parent-sciences. There is, however, another difficulty, more important because it is permanent. It is not the youth of economic history but its very character which makes it a stepchild of the social sciences. It is handicapped with regard to both the high degree of factual accuracy required by historians and the equally high degree of theoretical accuracy required by economists. These economic forces affect everybody every day in every way. And although they run wild now and then in a spectacular way and like soil erosion cause dust storms and floods, they usually do not make enough noise to be observed and recorded for posterity.

This article presents an announcement by the Council on Research in Economic History related to a competition for the best paper on the subject of "Interpreting Long-Term Economic Growth: An Evaluation of Past Attempts and Future Possibilities." Competition is open to all scholars, the judges only being excluded. The prize will be awarded if, in the opinion of the judges, the best manuscript is an acceptable one. The judges may, in their discretion, divide the prize between two of the contestants. Essays should not exceed 40,000 words, be in English and conform to the major literary and typographical convention of the Journal of Economic History.

The article presents news briefs in the U.S. The American Society for Cybernetics together with the Wharton School and the College of Engineering and Applied Science of the University of Pennsylvania will be the sponsors of a 3-day conference on Communication and Control in Social Processes to be held at the University of Pennsylvania from October 30 through November 2, 1974. Instructions for the submission of papers for the conference are given.

This article examines the branches of economic theory and development economics. The proliferation and sub-division of development economics is most dramatically shown by the many periodicals which devote themselves entirely to some particular aspect of the subject, such as development finance, development agriculture and so on. Such an economist should try to acquire a good working knowledge at least, of the broad economic dimensions and the basic features of the situation, in a wide range of underdeveloped countries. His aim should be to try to apply the existing economic theory in a more realistic and fruitful way to suit the varying conditions of the different types of underdeveloped country. An equally important part of his job would be to try to prevent serious misapplications of economic theory, whether of the orthodox type or the newer modern theories, to the underdeveloped countries. The alternative view which pervades thinking at present is that the advanced countries should take the responsibility of guaranteeing a politically-acceptable target rate of economic growth for all underdeveloped countries and, if this cannot be achieved by the latter countries' own efforts, the advanced countries should be prepared not only to increase the total volume of aid but also to increase the planning and supervision of the use of this aid so that the peoples of underdeveloped countries may enjoy economic development in spite of themselves. Obviously the underdeveloped countries cannot insist on freedom to use aid in any way they like and at the same time insist that the advanced countries guarantee a minimum target rate of economic growth for them all. Ultimately they will have to choose the one or the other.

This article focuses on the problems of pricing and optimal choice of factor proportions. In general economic theory we have a stock of logically well-founded conclusions about the role of prices as a means of achieving efficiency in the use of economic resources. Such conclusions are usually derived in a static setting. Trying to apply them in practice, practitioners in planning often encounter difficulties. They feel--in my opinion correctly--that in taking decisions about technology, factor proportions and so on, one has to take into account expected future prices, expected trends in technology and other circumstances, although such considerations cannot easily be accommodated in traditional formal theory. The gap is due, in my opinion, to the assumptions made about factor substitution in the traditional theory of production. In this theory factor proportions formally appear as variables that can be adjusted continuously to changing factor prices, whereas they are in practice frozen for a considerable time because factor proportions are largely determined by the nature of production plant and equipment. On the other hand, one cannot dismiss variable proportions from allocation theory, because proportions are obviously variable ex ante, that is before the choice of technology has been embodied in physical plant and equipment.

The article presents a list of new periodicals received by the Social Science Documentation Centre of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It also includes a volume which is devoted to a critical assessment of the social science press in the world at large and in eight representative countries namely Brazil, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Poland, the Great Britain and the U.S. Some of these periodicals are "ABC Political Science," "Computer Studies in the Humanities and Verbal Behavior," a quarterly publication jointly sponsored by universities of Colorado, Kansas and North Carolina, "East African Journal of Rural Development," semi-annual published jointly by Makerere University College and University of East Africa, "Education and Urban society," a new independent quarterly journal of social research with implications for public policy and "European Economic Review," a quarterly journal sponsored by the European Scientific Association of Applied Economics.

The article focuses on psychological and economic aspects of automation. America has never developed a philosophy of leisure for the average man, that unlimited consumption is the mainspring for the work habits of the average citizen, and that there is an element of truth in the remarks of foreign observers visiting these shores, who declare that the leisure-time objective of the average American may be described as having fun, then it is difficult to see in what sense an automated America will release the human spirit for a more vital, more fructifying and more serious use of leisure. Automation may release it, to be sure, but only for more frenzied efforts to have a good time and to avoid being introduced to one's own subconscious. A widespread myth which shores up the enthusiasts for automation is the underlying economic belief in the infinite insatiety of human wants. This is one of the most macabre beliefs concerning the input-output aspects of the human organism ever bequeathed by classical economics. It is not only a conviction untrue to human nature but it is also a philosophy which unconsciously advocates increasing gluttony. Yet without this philosophy there would be no economic raison d'etre for most Western democracies.

The article focuses on the economic development of a self-governing and a non-self-governing country. The article presents a study that consists of 198 political entities, classified into 88 self-governing entities and 110 non-self-governing political entities. The various self-governing political entities range in size from a population of about 5,000 to 400,000,000, the non-self governing political entities vary from a population of less than 1,000 to about 30,000,000. Results of the study reveal that readily reveals that the index of commercial energy production and the index of grain and food production are the two indices most efficiently discriminating between self-governing and non-self-governing political entities. Careful scrutiny of additional data may show that development is of great importance if a non-self-governing entity is to attempt effectively to gain self-government either through negotiation with controlling self-governing powers or through force of arms. A forthcoming series of articles will deal with the relation of development to unrest in various regions of the world.

The future role of the social sciences in the specialist education of graduates who will work in the field of water resources is examined. The current comparatively small participation of university social science departments in such training is reviewed briefly, and proposed methods of interdisciplinary involvement are suggested, such as water resources topics for theses within the social sciences, service courses in a social science discipline for engineering and natural sciences students, and social science participation in water-resource-oriented seminars. Specific suggestions are advanced for participation of the social sciences in a water resources study program involving the long-term interdisciplinary collaboration of social scientists with natural scientists and engineers in an integrated series of graduate courses and research seminars dealing with water resources problems, issues, and policies. A partial list of relevant areas and courses within the social sciences is proposed for discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]