The Industrial Study of Economic Progress by Hiram S. DavisReview by: B. S. KeirsteadThe Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science / Revue canadienne d'Economique etde Science politique, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Feb., 1948), p. 145Published by: Wiley on behalf of Canadian Economics AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/137675 .

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Short Notices 145

SHORT NOTICES

The Industrial Study of Economic Progress, by HIRAM S. DAVIS (Indus- trial Research Department, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, Research studies no. XXXIII; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1947, pp. xii, 180, $2.75). This book is the twenty- third volume of the series entitled "Industrial Research Studies," which has been produced by the Industrial Research Department of the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce. The author is director of the research programme. In this book he is attempting, not a general study of economic progress, but rather the prolegomena to a programme of inquiries of an empirical sort, "centering on changes in productive efficiency," and concentrated on the conditions of eco- nomic progress. With the general objective of this programme, few would quarrel. It is, indeed, true that "many, many different individuals and institutions will have to interest themselves in the systematic study of economic progress," and the Wharton School is to be congratulated on its intended programme of pioneer work. The programme outlined in the Appendix to the present volume indicates the nature of what is intended. Representative industries from various classifications are to be selected to form a sample, and these will be studied with a view to discover how productive efficiency has been improved and how rapid has been the rate of growth. Comparative studies may disclose differences in the rates of advance, and their causes. The effects of technical progress on the quan- tity and terms of employment are also to be studied. Finally it is hoped that studies of the distribution of the benefits and of the social costs of technical progress can be attempted. The institutional bias of the Wharton School is ap- parent in this programme, but the present writer is not one to quarrel with that. The more we have such empirical evidence, the better we shall be able to con- struct theories of economic change, and the more confident shall we become about the validity of our theories. It is only proper to point out, however, that such stu;dies, of themselves, do not tell us very much about the causes and the nature of economic change, or about its social effects.

The volume under review provides a slim theoretic framework for the pro- posed programme. Economic progress is said to depend on technical progress, but to exist only when the gains are so distributed as to constitute a real advance in material welfare and to outweigh the social costs. Dr. Davis is on strong ground in rejecting the notion that economic progress is identical with technical progress, but he creates for himself problems, the difficulty of which he scarcely indicates, about the nature of material welfare and the comparative quantities of "social costs" and the gains of technical advance. The balance of the book is devoted to the problem of defining basic concepts for the projected studies, "pro- ductive efficiency," "re-employment," "sharing the gains," and "'social costs." In my opinion, this is skilfully done, and a sound foundation laid for the subse- quent studies. (I have found it impossible within the compass of a decently brief review to condense Dr. Davis's already compact argument in these chapters.) Final judgment must await the gradual appearance of the individual studies. The present reviewer welcomes this volume, both for itself and for its promise of things to come. [13. S. KEIRSTEAD]

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