Knowledge that Transforms

I. Relation between the effects of foreign trade and the structural characteristics of the national economy, 171. — Allocation of imports, 172. — Relation between "ultimate" demand and derived output and employment, 174. — Exports as an independent variable, 175. — Dependent and secondary exports, 177. — II. Formulation in precise quantitative terms, 178. — III. Relation between exports and employment in the United States in 1939: entire exports as part of final demand, including household consumption and domestic investment, 184; demand for consumers' goods not independent, 185; net terms of trade allowed for, 186. — General observations, 186.

The problem, 351. — Economic and moral aspects, 351. — "Fair wage" the core of the question, 352. — Commutative and social justice, 353. — "Ability to pay" involves a question of commutative justice, 357. — The basic principle, 357. — Examples, 359. — Modern applications, 359. — Apparent exceptions to the principle, 361. — Needless poverty of our economic philosophy, 362.

Reasons for questioning the continuous forward-rising supply curve, 390. — Alternative shapes of the supply curve under full employment, 392. — The supply curve with unemployment and with employers hiring only from the unemployed, 398. — Effects of introducing differences in the individual efficiency of labor and occupational specialization, 406. — Conclusion, 410.

I. Purpose of the article, 26. — Theoretical background of the analysis, 26. — Disregarding any particular link in the chain of cost-price relationships, 29. — II. Basis of the numerical measures of interdependence used, 30. — Setting up the basic equations, 31. — Results of the analysis, 31. — III. The question of fixed technical coefficients, 38.

Reviews the book "Sampling Statistics and Applications. Fundamentals of the Theory of Statistics," by James G. Smith and Acheson J. Duncan.

In the course of an audit, an auditor may analyze in detail each item in the books. However, in most instances, to arrive at a conclusive opinion in regard to the records, it is unnecessary to collect complete information on each item with which the auditor deals. To overcome the necessity of checking each item in every investigation, accountants and auditors have employed the method of test checking or sampling. From the test check or sample, a relatively small part of the records, the auditor draws a conclusion as to the general accuracy of the accounting details. To appreciate the auditor's problems of sampling, one must know about sampling theory as applied to data which an accountant will probably encounter. Sampling theory is basically related both to the theory of probability and to the likelihood of errors. Whenever each item chosen has the same probability of being chosen as any other item in the group, the relationship between the items may be worked out to a precise mathematical point.

Reviews the book "Investments and Funds," by Hiram T. Scovill.

Working capital is the excess of current assets over current liabilities. Current assets are those assets which will generally be converted into cash within one year in the normal course of business. Current liabilities are those liabilities which will generally be paid during the ensuing year. Working capital may be regarded as a reservoir, the level and content of which is constantly being changed by business transactions. The condition of the reservoir at any particular time is shown by a summary of current assets and current liabilities in this article. To show the flow in and out of the reservoir, it calls for another type of statement covering a period of time and showing the sources from which working capital was obtained, and the purposes for which working capital was used. Changes in debits and credits appearing in a worksheet are frequently net amounts. The primary purpose of reclassifying entries is to set out as a separate item on the worksheet each amount making up the net amount. The information needed to prepare such entries is obtained from analyses of the accounts.

Reviews the book "The Evolution of the Budgetary Concept in the Federal Government," edited by Catheryn Seckler-Hudson.

Reviews the book "Ohio C.P.A. Problems and Solutions 1940-1944," by William E. Dickerson, William B. Jencks and Richard C. Rea.