Knight on the limited scope of scientific method in economics, 156. — Wolfe on functional economics, 159. — Bye's defence of pure science, 161. — Clark's pragmatic views, 161. — Mills on the logic of statistics, 163. — Weld and Mills's canons, 167. — Tugwell on experimental thinking, 168. — Slichter's indictment of the competitive system, 171. — Mitchell's position on the relation of psychology to economics, 173. — The postulates of economics, 179. — Institutional economics, 182.

Consumers' Surplus in International Trade. A Supplementary Note Get access Allyn A. Young Allyn A. Young Harvard University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 39, Issue 3, May 1925, Pages 498–499, https://doi.org/10.2307/1882443 Published: 01 May 1925

IN the preceding installment of this series of studies, certain important differences in the seasonal and cyclical fluctuations of banking phenomena in New York City and outside of New York City were shown. These differences were such as to suggest doubts respecting the adequacy and significance of any generalizations about the characteristics of the behavior of bank credit in which the distinction between the banks in a country's central money market and the country's other banks is not taken into account. It was observed, furthermore, that the series relating to banks outside of New York City were, in effect, weighted averages of series such as might have been compiled for different types of banks or for banks in different sections of the country. Certain questions at once suggest themselves. How representative is the average? How much real diversity does it cover up? How far is the general process of give and take between New York City and the rest of the country supplemented by other recurrent processes that play a part in the mobilizing and the distributing of credit? The series that are analyzed in the present installment have been selected with the purpose of throwing light upon such questions. They are not the only series which would have been useful for that purpose. But the amount of transcribing and computing which these studies have required is so large that some selection has been necessary. A few words in explanation of the grounds upon which the selection is made appear to be called for. It will be observed that the threefold classification of national banks according to their legal reserve requirements (banks in central reserve cities, banks in reserve cities, and other banks) has been passed over in order to make room for a regional dassification. Preliminary studies led me to believe that the regional differences, on the whole, were more significant. Nevertheless, in addition to the figures already given for New York City, I have found it possible to give figures for another central reserve city (Chicago), and for two important reserve cities (Boston and San Francisco). The regional classification which I have used is taken over from the reports of the Comptroller of the Currency.' Doubtless, by some other scheme of dassification, regions could be marked off that would have more industrial and financial homogeneity. But the possible advantage of reclassification did not seem to justify the additional computation that would have been required. In the case of the Eastern states, the figures for New York City, given separately, have been subtracted from the aggregate for the region. The figures for the other regions have not been altered by subtractions or additions. The regional series, therefore, may be viewed as constituting a regional dissection of the composite series for all outside banks which were discussed in the preceding installment. I have not thought it worth while to use a large number of different series in this regional study. I have selected deposits and loans and discounts because their fluctuations, undoubtedly, are more significant than those of any other banking series. For the geographic sections, although not for the selected cities, I have also inquired into the fluctuations of investments. Aside from the variations of loans and discounts and the movement of money into and out of the banks the fluctuations of investments have a more important relation to the fluctuations of deposits than the movements of any other banking series have. As for the movement of money