DISCUSSION.

The article discusses the works of Ewan Clague, Morton Levine, Francis M. Boddy and Gerald G. Somers on economists of the U.S. Clague estimates that the number of economists at twenty thousand. It is good in the sense that many of these would probably not qualify as economists because of lack of training. It is doubtful that the study on which Clague partly bases his conclusion, namely, that done for the National Science Foundation, is especially appropriate because their sample includes only 10 per cent women, which is a rather small representation of women in comparison with the national figures. That a large proportion of these economists are not well trained is suggested by the fact that there were roughly about 5,500 Ph.D. degree holders in the group by 1960. The author of this article is also doubtful about counting the numbers to be adequate, for problems of productivity are relevant. There is no doubt that by reducing the number of small classes, alternating courses, and making students do more independent work, one can greatly increase the productivity of a given number of academic economists.