F OLLOWING a pioneering article by Solow [71 the problem of measuring technical change has been investigated by many authors, viz., Hogan [4], Massell [i], Pasinetti [6], Solow [7]. What almost all the papers above attempt to do is to construct a series which indexes or measures technical change. The term is slightly inaccurate in that the series really purport to describe the time profile of that part of output which is not explained by the specified inputs, viz., capital and labor. It may be preferable to employ the term in accounting for such variations in observed output, a terminology which will be adhered to below. We shall provide a simple method of estimating a productivity parameter in a firm or sectoral or global production function. We shall then apply this method in estimating the appropriate parameter for the Manufacturing and Service Sector of the United States post-war economy. Finally, we shall indicate a method for testing a statistical hypothesis on the equality of two parameters so estimated. It will be found that the data does not warrant the conclusion that the rate of change of productivity differs significantly as between the two sectors.

p HIS is an important, even though an unfinished and disjointed, book about income distribution. It reports results of a campaign by a research team using the biggest guns of modern survey research and computer technology against old questions of fundamental importance. According to its preface the book was prompted by the paucity of material available on the causes of poverty and dependency. The authors declare that

Journal Article “Credit Risk and Credit Rationing”: Comment Get access A. J. L. Catt A. J. L. Catt New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, Inc., Wellington, New Zealand Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 77, Issue 3, August 1963, Pages 505–510, https://doi.org/10.2307/1879576 Published: 01 August 1963

Peer Reviewed

Journal Article The Impact of Credit Control on Consumer Durable Spending in the United Kingdom, 1957–1961 Get access R. J. Ball, R. J. Ball Manchester Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Pamela S. Drake Pamela S. Drake Manchester Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Review of Economic Studies, Volume 30, Issue 3, October 1963, Pages 181–194, https://doi.org/10.2307/2296319 Published: 01 October 1963

Reviews the book "Computer Language," by Harry Colman, Clarence Smallwood and George W. Brown.

Reviews the book "Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Tulane Tax Institute--1962."

Much has been said about the importance of the science of statistical sampling in the work of accountants, auditors and financial managers. There is no longer any doubt that statistical sampling must become an integral part of the financial manager's, accountant's or auditor's kit of tools, and management can no longer afford to exclude this vital subject from managerial training programs. There are many executive development courses being given both in and outside the Federal Government on such subjects as "automatic data processing," "human relations," "public relations" and "decision making." What is disconcerting, however, is the continued absence from the management training programs of the equally important subject of statistical sampling. This article describes a course recently given on this subject and points out possible ways of spreading successful training programs along this line. Courses in Statistical Sampling have become an integral part of the formal curriculum of a limited number of colleges and universities. It is conceivable that in the not too distant future many more schools will add sampling courses to their curricula. From a financial manager's viewpoint, one of the difficulties with, most of these courses is that they are pitched too high and are not geared to management's needs both in content and instruction.

Motivating employees to work for the goals of the firm has long been one of management's most important and vexing problems. The search for methods that motivate effectively, that induce the employee to work harder for the firm's goals, led to experimentation with a wide diversity of devices. In recent years, several writers emphasized that the firm's accounting system has a direct influence on the motivation of managers. This paper (a) surveys the available findings of research done in the behavioral sciences and organization theory as they bear on motivation and (b) critically examines the accounting system and reports in the light of such findings. Decentralization contributes to effective motivation. The firm's accounting system facilitates decentralization and hence has an indirect but important impact on motivation. The direct use of accounting reports, such as budgets, for motivation can result in reduced performance, if the budget is imposed on the department manager. The accounting system facilitates decentralization, which is conducive to effective motivation. Furthermore, the careful use of accounting reports can directly contribute toward effective motivation by expressing goals and by supplying knowledge of performance.