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The paper is concerned with testing an application of a theory of investment behavior based on the neo-classical theory of optimal capital accumulation. The demand for capital is determined to maximize net worth under the neo-classical conditions of production. With the assumption of a lag in the completion of investment projects, gross investment is a distributed lag function of period-to-period changes in desired capital stock. The investment process is divided into a series of separate stages, the first stage being a change in the demand for capital services, intermediate stages being for letting contracts, and so on, and the final stage the actual investment expenditure. To extend the theory to include anticipated investment expenditures, these are treated as a special kind of intermediate stage. The purposes of the paper are to test hypotheses about the internal structure of the investment process when viewed in this way, and to investigate whether forecasting actual investment expenditures by treating the investment process in this way can improve upon the method used by the OBE-SEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of selecting a computer is very complex, involving much technical detail and much economic approximation. Because of the substantial investment which many organizations have in computers, it is of significant benefit to use selection procedures which minimize computer costs as much as possible within the numerous difficult constraints always present in computer selections. The issues involved in such selections are so complex, the needs and economies are so variable, and the trade-offs which must be made are so qualitative that it is not meaningful to suggest a single, universal approach to selection. Instead of attempting such a recommendation, this paper provides a framework and a basis from which the user can confidently determine a selection approach which is appropriate to his own circumstances. An exposition of the basic considerations underlying selection is presented, followed by a detailed analysis of the steps in the selection process, including alternative approaches to carrying out these steps. An account of procedures used by various organizations is given. Finally, a bibliography, organized by subject matter, is included to facilitate deeper investigation of the issues raised. An appendix contains an attempt at comparison of some major computers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we intend to take issue with several of the basic assumptions of postwar model builders. Three important strands running through much of current dynamic theory are rejected:
(a) that the DOMAR effect leads to a razor's edge; (b) that constraints or ceilings must be destabilizing and (c) that it is a proper or enlightening procedure in dynamic analysis to assume away all problems of effective demand[3].
The general idea of the dual role of investment is here retained. Indeed, we stress the likelihood of investment leading to unequal effects on output and capital at different periods of the cycle; in other words, a 'variable DOMAR effect'. It is further argued that constraints do operate in the normal functioning of a capitalist system in such a way as to limit the movements of investment and demand, but the meaning of a constraint or ceiling is modified. What is argued is that it does not help to think in terms of an absolute ceiling on, say, output of capital goods that operates during the normal course of the boom. Rather, it is proper to think of 'relative' ceilings; i.e., of increasing inelasticities of supply during the mid and late stages of the boom[4]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large landholder remains an economic and political force in Latin America today. While his once almost absolute power to control and establish the patterns of the Latin American socioeconomic structure must increasingly be shared with other groups—military, industrial and commercial, not to mention foreign—the degree to which he still influences these nations as they strive for development is of major significance. In this paper an attempt is made to study the latifundista's impact upon the economic development of Latin American countries by the examination of the effect of his income and expenditure patterns on the key determinants of national product—investment, consumption, and foreign trade balances. This approach largely ignores such economic questions as the effects of the latifundista, except by investment, on agricultural production and resource allocation, his impact on economic incentives for others engaged in agriculture, as well as crucial social and political concomitants. These questions, undoubtedly as important as those studied, cannot be ignored in an overall assessment of the effect of latifundismo, and should be borne in mind by readers. That those controlling much of the agricultural wealth may also share in the industrial and commercial wealth of the nation is likely ignored, thus understating the total influence which members of this landed aristocracy actually have on the economy. Nonetheless, the aspects being examined are significant and the conclusions should increase our understanding of problems related to income distribution and the availability of domestic financing for economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Revenue Act of 1954 permitted entrepreneurs for the first time to make use of the double declining balance (DDB) and sum of the year's digits (SYD) methods of depreciation in place of the customary straight line method (SL). The tax advantages from using such methods are well known.(n1) In spite of these advantages, however, the accelerated methods in many cases appear to have been adopted only slowly over the years. Clearly any attempt to determine the effect on investment of such provisions must rely on knowledge of the extent of their use. Unfortunately there is no direct information available, nor do estimates exist, for the two-digit manufacturing industries on the fraction of investment in each year since 1954 written off by accelerated methods. In this paper an attempt is made simultaneously to estimate such figures on an annual basis and to fit a learning curve to them.(n2) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]