Reviews the book "Information Utilities," by Richard E. Sprague.

This general introduction to the theory of money and of balance of payments adjustment was originally published in 1969. It was the first book to pay full attention to the theory of assets: the relation of the supply of assets to the demand for holding them and the significance of asset movements for balance of payments adjustment. Written in simple language and with brevity, the book is intended for the student with a general knowledge of economics and economic institutions, but with no specialised knowledge of these topics.

[Average cost functions for the life insurance industry, all of which show increasing and then constant returns, are estimated from cross section data for 237 companies. The special problems of measuring output, controlling for product mix, and accounting for the effect of rate of growth in output are examined and dealt with. The article concludes that average costs are constant beyond $100 million of premiums.]