bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Automotive Agreement of 1965
Authors: Wonnacott Paul , Wonnacott R. J.
Published: June 2006

In an earlier article, it was noted that a change in automotive policy might possibly meet the approval of both protectionists and free traders: the change might lead both to an increase in the volume of domestic production of the item in question, and to a decrease in the total excess costs of production. (In the event of both these results being achieved, the percentage decrease in per unit excess cost would of necessity be greater than the decrease in total excess costs.) This paper evaluates the probable effects of the US-Canadian automotive agreement of 1965 on the basis of these two criteria. In addition, the distribution of efficiency gains from this agreement will be discussed. Equity is an obvious consideration here, and there is also some question whether the division of gains may jeopardize the competitive position of the Canadian industry after 1968.
An Evaluation of Estimates of Immigration into Canada in the Late Nineteenth Century
Authors: Pickett James
Published: June 2006

The current widespread concern with economic growth has stimulated much quantitative study of the economic history of now-developed countries, including Canada. Population change has been an important part of the Canadian record and considerable attention has been given to international migration. Unfortunately, in the period now of greatest interest–say between Confederation and the eve of the First World War–insufficient attention was paid in Canada and other countries to the problems of keeping accurate and comprehensive records of migration. As a result serious doubts must attach to any migration statistics which still survive from this period. These doubts must extend to the Canadian official figures, even though immigrant statistics go back to 1852, are ostensibly complete in that the annual series is thereafter unbroken, and ostensibly genuine in that immigrants are defined as “those who have never been in Canada before and who declare their intention to live there permanently.” In fact, the Canadian official record of migration in the second half of the nineteenth century suffers from at least three serious defects: the immigration figures are lacking in internal consistency; the unguarded propinquity of the United States created more problems in counting migrant heads than Canadian (or American) authorities could solve; and there are no data at all on emigration.
Imperial Reaction to the Fielding Tariff of 1897
Authors: Shields R. A.
Published: June 2006

During the closing decades of the nineteenth century the self-governing colonies of the British Empire and particularly Canada attempted to obtain a broader degree of freedom in developing their commercial policies. The campaign, which may be said to have commenced in 1878, had as its goals the right for the dependencies to conclude preferential tariff agreements with each other, the establishment of tariff preference throughout the Empire, including the United Kingdom, and the denunciation of the mother country's treaties with Belgium and the German Zollverein. Abrogation of the latter two agreements was regarded as vital since they provided that any duty concessions made to the United Kingdom by the colonies had to be accorded to Belgium and Germany. These concessions also had to be extended to all other foreign countries with which London had treaties containing the most-favoured-nation clause that included the colonies.

The movement suffered a considerable set-back in 1895 when the Colonial Secretary, the Marquis of Ripon, issued his famous circular letter to the colonies in which he stoutly defended Britain's free-trade policy and emphasized the value of her commerce with the foreign world. His policy statement rejecting the establishment of tariff preference within the Empire and the abolition of the two treaties was aimed at a series of resolutions emanating from the Colonial Conference of 1894 held in Ottawa. This imperial pronunciamento was not the last word. The entire issue was raised again in 1897 when a new tariff bill was introduced in the Canadian House of Commons by the Finance Minister, W. S. Fielding. The purport of the bill was to grant preference to British goods.
Politics and Policy-Making in Metropolitan Toronto
Authors: Kaplan Harold
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this paper is to describe the way in which policy decisions have been made by the government of Metropolitan Toronto during its first twelve years of operation, and to set policy-making in the broader context of interest-group and electoral politics in the Toronto area. I begin with some comments on the structure of Metro government and on the current debate over Metro’s successes and failures.

The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a major breakthrough in the post-war drive for reorganization of local governments in metropolitan areas. As the inability of small, autonomous local governments to deal with metropolitan problems became apparent, most North American metropolitan areas began considering various devices for meeting region-wide needs. Metro Toronto, created in 1953 by an act of the Ontario legislature, is the oldest example of what has become known as the metropolitan federation plan, a device subsequently adopted for the Miami and Winnipeg metropolitan areas.

The 1953 provincial statute setting up Metro brought the City of Toronto and twelve suburbs under the umbrella of a new regional government, but did not alter any municipal boundaries in the area. A few powers were shifted to the Metro level, a few were left solely with the municipalities. A majority of powers, however, were to be shared by both levels of government. Metro was dominant in the fields of public transportation, property assessment, capital borrowing, highway construction, and the construction of water and sewer facilities; the municipalities were dominant in the fields of zoning, housing, welfare, police, fire, licensing, and traffic control. The only major change in this 1953 division of powers occurred in 1956, when policing and licensing functions were amalgamated–that is, shifted from the municipal to the Metro level.
Collectivization and Economic Development
Authors: Fallenbuchl Zbigniew M.
Published: June 2006

According to Marxism-Leninism the “socialist reconstruction of agriculture,” or collectivization, is a necessary step in the process of building socialism and, subsequently, communism. The communists realize, however, that in a country where the peasantry constitutes the overwhelming majority of the population the process may require some time and they admit that in such cases “the socialist reconstruction of agriculture is, after the seizure of power by the working class, the most difficult task of the revolution.”

Lenin was aware of the danger inherent in collectivization and he was planning it as a gradual process. The communist leaders in Eastern Europe and in China, keeping in mind the catastrophic results of the Soviet collectivization drive in the years 1928–33, were even more convinced that they should proceed slowly, gradually, and carefully, without antagonizing the majority of peasants. They tried, as the Bolsheviks had done during the 1920's, to reduce the power of the “kulaks” (the better-off peasants who were still rather poor by Western standards) and to enlist against them the support of the poor peasants and of the rest of the society. Neither the Bolsheviks in the late 1920's nor the communists in Eastern Europe in the late 1940's and in China in the 1950's could tolerate independent producers who represented a political menace and created economic complications for the administrators and the planners. Moreover, the land reforms, which were introduced by the communists for tactical reasons although regarded by them as a retrogressive step, increased the number of small holdings below the optimum size and destroyed larger farms which had been producing the majority of marketable output. The “class struggle in the countryside” had adverse effects on productivity, even when it was limited to discrimination in taxation, in delivery quotas, in availability of credit and producers' goods, and the administrative pressure and chicanery. In many instances it went, however, far beyond these measures.
Streamlining the Procedures of the Canadian House of Commons, 1963–1966
Authors: Page Donald
Published: June 2006

In 1965, many Canadian and British writers paid tribute to the seven hundredth anniversary of the founding of the British Parliament, and this year, Canadians celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of theirs. Criticism of parliament has been vigorous and almost continuous throughout all these years, and in the midst of these celebrations Canadians are conscious of an apparent decline in the time-worn institution. On October 8, 1963, the Globe and Mail reprinted excerpts from prominent Canadian newspapers describing parliament as “a farce,” “a wasteful bore,” whose members were “incompetents and buffoons” who “had played the role of clowns.” If parliament is to remain a vital and central part of our democracy, it must be resurrected from the morass of ineffectuality into which it has fallen. Although much of the criticism can be dismissed as irresponsible because the public does not understand its workings or functions, there still remains a hard core of difficulties that must be examined.
The Social Sciences in the Age of Opulence
Authors: Johnson Harry G.
Published: June 2006

The tradition of presidential addresses before this Association is a varied and extremely democratic one, offering no set pattern for the guidance of a president-elect. My immediate predecessor in the presidency, who has honoured me by agreeing to take the chair tonight, last year offered us his reflections on one of the fundamental concepts in his field of sociology, the myth. His predecessor applied the tools of his trade as a political theorist to a dissection of the political assumptions of contemporary economics—not entirely, it must be confessed, to the comfort and satisfaction of the economists present in the audience. Previous presidents have frequently employed the occasion to collect in one intellectual basket the fruits of a lifetime of serious scholarship in their own particular vineyard. For my own address tonight, I have chosen to speak on the contemporary position, prospects, and problems of the social sciences. This choice reflects in part a feeling that an address on the kind of professional subject to which I have been devoting my attention in recent years—a topic in the pure theory of international trade—would be of such limited general interest as to strain even the tolerance of this audience. My main reason, however, for choosing to talk about our profession, rather than to exemplify its work in one specific area of economics, is that I think that I can contribute most usefully to fulfilling the purposes of this Association by attempting to place the manifold problems with which its members are currently confronted in a broader historical perspective.
A Robinsonian Growth Model
Authors: Nowlan David M.
Published: June 2006

A Robinsonian model is a two-sector model with fixed technical coefficients. Aside from Mrs Robinson's own work, similar models, without technical change, have been discussed in two major papers, one by I. M. D. Little and the other by R. Findlay. Mrs Robinson has criticized both these contributions on the ground that they do not treat the rate of growth or accumulation as an exogenous variable, but rather regard it as endogenous, emerging from the model after the real-wage rate has been given. In the first section of this paper I explore the conditions for stable equilibrium growth on Mrs Robinson's assumption of a desired rate of accumulation (a function of “animal spirits” and the rate of profit), and then add to the model neutral technical change of an appropriate sort.

In section II, the effects of introducing biased technical change are examined. I show that the model has “technological stability,” by which I mean that there is a tendency for technical change to be neutral. Predictions and tests about the movement over time of the consumption-good price of capital are made in section III. Finally, I end with a short comment on stability in the short run.
Mergers and Competition: The Brewing Case
Authors: Jones J. C. H.
Published: June 2006

In 1960, the first major decision of any doctrinal importance concerning mergers under section 32 of the Combines Investigation Act was handed down in the Supreme Court of Ontario. This decision established that there is no merger problem under the Act unless the fusion of firms creates a monopoly situation. Such a test, aside from being incomprehensible in economic terms, is based on a narrow legal premise (that may or may not be legally correct) which, taken together with the decision in R. v. British Columbia Sugar Refining Co. Ltd. and the inexplicable decision of the Crown to appeal neither case, has resulted in complete emasculation of the merger section of the Act. In effect, mergers have ceased to become an economic problem.

The purpose of this paper is to reevaluate the Brewing case solely in terms of economic criteria, by putting economic flesh on the bones of the statutory offence: “merger … which has operated or is likely to operate to the detriment or against the interest of the public.” Such criteria as will be erected are generally applicable to the section because here the application of appropriate economic criteria requires not so much a change in the Act as a better and more sophisticated treatment in the courts.
The Accuracy of Canadian Forecasts of Manufacturers' Capital and Repair Expenditures
Authors: Holmes R. A.
Published: June 2006

Canadian anticipations data for manufacturers' capital and repair expenditures are now extensive enough to allow statistical estimates of their accuracy to be made. The data are based on mail questionnaire surveys conducted and analysed by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Trade and Commerce. Their year-end “cut-off” surveys include manufacturing establishments having gross sales in excess of $200,000.00 annually, and are used to estimate intentions for the year ahead, as well as to provide actual expenditures for the current year and the previous year. The results are published the following spring, and the forecasts are revised at mid-year on the basis of smaller “follow-up” surveys which include only the larger establishments.

The accuracy of these forecasts is measured in this study by comparing them with the estimates of actual expenditures which are published two years later. Objections to such comparisons on the grounds that the forecasts could be used as an instrument of control, designed to influence the subject of the forecast, can be safely ignored, since the published results are simply summations of the estimates of individual establishments, with a mechanical allowance for non-surveyed expenditures. Our measure of accuracy might also be criticized on the grounds that the estimates of actual expenditures may be as inaccurate as the forecasts themselves, so that the comparison of forecast to “actual” is no measure of the accuracy of the former. This is unlikely to be the case, however, since the accounting data of most firms provide accurate and readily available statements of actual capital outlays.
Business strategies for conservation on private lands: Koa forestry as a case study
Authors: Goldstein Joshua H. , Daily Gretchen C. , Friday James B. , Matson Pamela A. , Naylor Rosamond L. , Vitousek Peter
Published: June 2006

Innovative financial instruments are being created to reward conservation on private, working lands. Major design challenges remain, however, to make investments in biodiversity and ecosystem services economically attractive and commonplace. From a business perspective, three key financial barriers for advancing conservation land uses must frequently be addressed: high up-front costs, long time periods with no revenue, and high project risk due to long time horizons and uncertainty. We explored ways of overcoming these barriers on grazing lands in Hawaii by realizing a suite of timber and conservation revenue streams associated with their (partial) reforestation. We calculated the financial implications of alternative strategies, focusing on
Acacia koa
(“koa”) forestry because of its high conservation and economic potential. Koa’s timber value alone creates a viable investment (mean net present value = $453/acre), but its long time horizon and poor initial cash flow pose formidable challenges for landowners. At present, subsidy payments from a government conservation program targeting benefits for biodiversity, water quality, and soil erosion have the greatest potential to move landowners beyond the tipping point in favor of investments in koa forestry, particularly when combined with future timber harvest (mean net present value = $1,661/acre). Creating financial mechanisms to capture diverse ecosystem service values through time will broaden opportunities for conservation land uses. Governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private investors have roles to play in catalyzing this transition by developing new revenue streams that can reach a broad spectrum of landowners.
IL-1β alters hemodynamics in newborn intestine: role of endothelin
Authors: Nowicki Philip T.
Published: June 2006

Studies were carried out to determine the effects of IL-1β on newborn intestinal hemodynamics. IL-1β increased the release of ET-1 by primary endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner; as well, it reduced expression of the endothelin (ET) type B (ETB) receptor on endothelial cells and increased expression of the ET type A (ETA) receptor on vascular smooth muscle cells. IL-1β increased endothelial cell endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) expression but did not enhance eNOS activity as evidenced by release of NOxinto conditioned medium in response to acetylcholine or shear stress. The effects of IL-1β on flow-induced dilation were evaluated in terminal mesenteric arteries in vitro. Pretreatment with IL-1β (1 ng; 4 h) significantly attenuated vasodilation in response to flow rates of 100 and 200 μl/min. This effect was mediated, in part, by the endothelin ETAreceptor; thus selective blockade of ETAreceptors with BQ610 nearly restored flow-induced dilation. In contrast, exogenous ET-1 only shifted the diameter-flow curve downward without altering the percent vasodilation in response to flow. The effects of IL-1β on ileal oxygenation were then studied using in vivo gut loops. Intramesenteric artery infusion of IL-1β upstream of the gut loop caused ileal vasoconstriction and reduced the arterial-venous O2difference across the gut loop; consequently, it reduced ileal oxygenation by 60%. This effect was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with BQ610. These data support a linkage between the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β and vascular dysfunction within the intestinal circulation, mediated, at least in part, by the ET system.
Incorporation of proteins within alginate fibre-based scaffolds using a post-fabrication entrapment method
Authors: Hou Qingpu , Walsh Maria C , Freeman Richard , Barry John J A , Howdle Steven M , Shakesheff Kevin M
Published: June 2006

In this study, a physical entrapment process was explored for the incorporation of proteins within preformed fibrous alginates and the release profile was tuned by varying the processing parameters. The entrapment process was carried out in a series of aqueous solutions at room temperature and involved pre-swelling of the fibrous alginate within a Na+-rich solution, followed by exposure to the protein of choice and entrapping it by re-establishing cross-links of alginate with BaCl2. Entrapment and release of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA), a model protein, was studied. It was found that a sustained release of the incorporated protein in cell culture medium for about 6 days was achieved. The main factors determining the release profile included the NaCl/CaCl2 ratio in the pre-swelling solution, protein concentration, and the exposure time. To retard protein release, alginate fibres with entrapped FITC-BSA were processed together with poly(d, l-lactide) (PDLLA) into porous alginate fibre/PDLLA composites using supercritical CO2. In this manner, release of the protein for up to 3 months was achieved.
Antiproliferative effect of salvianolic acid A on rat hepatic stellate cells
Authors: Lin Yun-Lian , Lee Ting-Fang , Huang Yeh-Jeng , Huang Yi-Tsau
Published: June 2006

Suppression of activation or proliferation, or induction of apoptosis in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) have been proposed as therapeutic strategies against liver fibrosis. Salvia miltiorrhiza has been reported to exert antifibrotic effects in rats with hepatic fibrosis, but its mechanisms of action remain to be clarified. We have investigated the effects of salvianolic acid A (Sal A), an active principle from S. miltiorrhiza, on the proliferation-related biomarkers in a cell line of rat HSCs (HSC-T6) stimulated with platelet-derived growth factor-BB homodimer (PDGF-BB). DNA synthesis (bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation), cell cycle related proteins and apoptosis markers were determined to evaluate the inhibitory effects of Sal A. The results showed that Sal A (1–10μ M) concentration-dependently attenuated PDGF-BB-stimulated proliferation (BrdU incorporation) in HSC-T6 cells. Sal A at 10μ M induced cell apoptosis in PDGF-BB-incubated HSCs, together with a reduction of Bcl-2 protein expression, induction of cell cycle inhibitory proteins p21 and p27, and down-regulation of cyclins D1 and E, suppression of Akt phosphorylation, reduction in PDGF receptor phosphorylation, and an increase in caspase-3 activity. Sal A exerted no direct cytotoxicity on primary hepatocytes and HSC-T6 cells under experimental concentrations. Our results suggested that Sal A inhibited PDGF-BB-activated HSC proliferation, partially through apoptosis induction.
Prediction and Analysis of Blast Parameters Using Artificial Neural Network
Authors: Monjezi M. , Singh T.N. , Khandelwal Manoj , Sinha Shivam , Singh Vishal , Hosseini I.
Published: June 2006

In this study an attempt is made to predict the ratio of muck pile profile before and after the blast, fly rock and total explosive used, based on simple field tests as well blast design parameters. Prediction is done by making three different artificial neural network (ANN) models. Comparative statistical analysis is made among these three networks to ensure their performance suitability. Models of ANN were based on Feed Forward Back Propagation network with training functions – Resilient Backpropagation, One Step Secant and Powell-Beale Restarts. Total numbers of datasets chosen were 92 among which 17 were chosen for testing and validation and the rest were used for the training of networks. Statistical analysis is also made for these datasets. Considering performance for all the outputs, the best results are predicted by Powell-Beale Restarts, with an average percentage error of 5.871% for the ratio of muck pile before and after the blast, 5.335% for fly rocks and 5.775% for total explosive used. These parameters are predicted by number of holes to be blasted, hole diameter, pattern (spacing (m) X burden (m)), total volume of rock in a blast, average depth and total drill depth.
The Vibration Reduction Index Kij: Laboratory Measurements for Rigid Junctions and for Junctions with Flexible Interlayers
Authors: Crispin Charlotte , Ingelaere Bart , Van Damme Manuel , Wuyts Debby
Published: June 2006

The vibration reduction index Kij expresses the attenuation of the vibrational power flow through a junction. This quantity is important because it determines the contribution of the flanking transmission to the global sound transmission between rooms. It is used in acoustic building prediction models like that proposed in the standard EN 12354. Currently a draft exists to measure the Kij in laboratory. This draft, the prEN 10848, was prepared by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 126 and has been submitted for parallel enquiry. There are also prediction formulae available for the Kij, which are included in Annex E of the standard EN 12354-1 (2000). This article presents the Kij measured in a laboratory according to the draft prEN 10848 and documents an investigation in order to validate them for rigid junctions and junctions with a flexible interlayer. The observations focus on the comprehension and the quantification of the influence of some parameters like the modal overlap factor, the number of modes and the workmanship on the accuracy of the results. Furthermore, an extensive discussion tackles the problem of the determination of the parameter f1 used in the prediction formulae for junctions with flexible interlayers and the effect of the applied load.
Sound Absorption at Low Frequencies: Modelling a Test Room
Authors: de Melo Gustavo da S. V. , Gerges Samir N. Y. , Gibbs Barry M.
Published: June 2006

A description is given of sound absorption in small-furnished rooms at low frequencies. The objective of the work was to characterise room absorption and to develop a model of surface absorption appropriate for a modal description of contained sound fields at low frequencies. An empty test room was measured and numerically modelled, for use as a reference condition for later measurements with obstacles and absorbers in the room. A finite element model of the empty room demonstrated the need to account for even small irregularities in the room geometry. It is also confirmed that the vibration behaviour of the room walls contributes to the whole room absorption mechanism at very low frequencies. A parametric survey, involving model updating, yielded a frequency invariant value of absorption coefficient of 0.02, which produced the best agreement between prediction and measurement. The resultant predicted frequency response functions agreed with measurement within ± 5 dB. It is shown that it is possible to obtain agreement between measurement and prediction, after adjustments of wall acoustic impedance and loudspeaker frequency response.
Simulation of Viscothermal Losses on the Acoustic Behaviour of a Thin Fluid Layer Enclosed between Two Oscillating Plates
Authors: Karra Chafik , Akrout Ali , Hammami Lotfi , Haddar Mohamed
Published: June 2006

This article deals with a theoretical investigation for the analysis of a double-plate system enclosing a viscothermal fluid cavity. Dynamic equations of the coupled system are established in appropriate dimensionless form including the effects of viscosity and thermal conductivity of the fluid. The pressure wave equation is derived in in-plane form. This equation is solved analytically in the case of oscillating plate motions in order to determine the acoustic pressure in the cavity. Numerical results are presented for the case of two modal shapes. They show the importance of the viscothermal effects in the case of thin fluid layers.
Rating of Sound Insulation of Wall Impact Sounds in Buildings
Authors: Huang Shih-Pin , Lai Rong-Ping
Published: June 2006

The standards for rating airborne sound insulation of walls in buildings have been established. Refer to ISO 717/1, ASTM E413, JIS A1419-1, and CNS 8465 A1031. However, there is no standard for rating of sound insulation of wall impact sounds in building. This research has been conducted to develop it. At first, levels of wall impact sounds were measured by hitting lightweight walls in an acoustics laboratory and recording the resultant sound spectra. Those curves were divided in two groups, soft impact curves and hard impact curves. In addition to recording impact sound sources, people living in houses were invited to complete one questionnaire. Subjective responses were then compared with those of daily activities, including watching television, reading, listening, sleeping, and talking. Finally Soft Impact Curves (SIC) and Hard Impact Curves (HIC) were drafted for rating of sound insulation of wall impact sounds, and index of wall impact sound were recommended.
A Decoupled Vibro-Acoustic Development of FEM: Application to Laboratory Modelling
Authors: Jean Philippe , Siwiak Hugo , Joubert Guy
Published: June 2006

A decoupled model for sound transmission problems has been derived. The structure is modelled with commercial FEM software, thus allowing the consideration of complex partitions. The acoustical part of the problem is based on the GRIM approach, where the green functions for a blocked structure can be computed by different means such as modal approaches, BEM or geometrical models. This numerical platform has been developed as an extension to classical laboratory measurement of building elements mainly for impact noise levels and sound reduction index assessment. Comparisons with experimental results are presented.
The Reciprocity Treaty of 1854: A Regional Study
Authors: Saunders S. A.
Published: June 2006

While the net effects of the Reciprocity Treaty, 1855-1866, are difficult to estimate, it has been generally held that the Maritime Provinces gained more than did the province of Canada. The rapid development of central Canada and the painful readjustments of the Maritime Provinces since the abrogation of the treaty and the consummation of Confederation may seem to justify this conclusion, but the following analysis of the trade statistics of the period suggests grave doubts as to the validity of this interpretation. It appears that it was the province of Canada that had most to gain from free access to the American market.

The simplest and most general test of the efficacy of any trade policy is the measure of increase or decrease in those branches of commerce that it was designed to influence. In order to apply this test, a table has been prepared (table I) showing for the province of Canada and the Maritime Provinces the percentage changes in exports to, and imports from, the United States. In each case the imports and exports for the years 1854 to 1866 are shown as percentages of those for the year 1853. Had 1854 been chosen as the base year a slight advantage would have been gained for the thesis of this paper, but the results would not have been materially different.
Notes on Prices of Agricultural Commodities in the United States and Canada, 1850-1934
Authors: Michell H.
Published: June 2006

There are here presented charts and tables of the prices of seven agricultural commodities, namely wheat, oats, barley, rye, eggs, butter, and cheese, which were assembled in the course of a study of comparative prices in Canada and the United States for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Notes on the major influences determining the general trends of these prices are given by way of preface. It is hoped that the price data will prove of interest and value to other investigators. No discussion of the difficulties of compiling and comparing such price series is included; these difficulties are, of course, very great.

The five years 1850-5 may be taken as the turning point of the long decline in prices after the Napoleonic Wars. From 1840 to 1850 this decline had been particularly severe, the price level in Great Britain falling 28 per cent, and in the United States, 15.5 per cent. From various scattered records we may be certain that a similar drastic decline was experienced in Canada. The panic of 1847, followed by abundant harvests in Great Britain and the United States sent down prices for wheat sharply: in England from 50s. 6d. per quarter in 1848 to 38s. 6d. in 1851; in Canada from $0.875 per bushel in 1848 to $0.737 in 1852; and in the United States, from $0.85 to $0.708 in the same period. Poor harvests in 1852 and 1853, and the outbreak of the Crimean War in March, 1854, sent up the price of all foodstuffs, both in Canada and the United States.
The Trend of Fertility in Prince Edward Island
Authors: Charles Enid
Published: June 2006

Rapid and continuous decline in the size of the human family has been widespread during the last half-century. The main facts are widely known. A brief summary will serve as an introduction to what follows.

In most European countries a period of continuous decline in the birth-rate began about 1870. In France the decline began much earlier, in eastern European countries somewhat later. We find the same picture, varying only in time of origin and tempo, in the United States of America, the British Dominions, Russia, and probably in Japan. A precise measure of the trend in terms of gross and net reproduction rates cannot be given over a long period, but the changes in these measures are available for several countries from 1911 to 1931. The drop in the gross reproduction rate in these twenty years was 50 per cent in Sweden, 38 per cent in Denmark, 37 per cent in England and Wales. In Australia it was 41 per cent between 1912 and 1933. Studies of smaller population units reveal the same trend. Among the counties of England and Wales, the smallest percentage decrease between 1911 and 1931 was 18 per cent. In Scotland a few counties showed smaller percentage decreases, the smallest being 11 per cent.
War Finance and the Canadian Economy, 1914-20
Authors: Deutsch J.J.
Published: June 2006

To understand the effect of the war upon the Canadian economy it is first necessary to examine briefly the position of the country on the eve of the struggle. By the midsummer of 1913 Canada had come to the end of a long period of expansion and prosperity. For seventeen years the country had been engaged in the construction of the immense capital facilities which stimulated and resulted from the rapid settlement of the Prairie Provinces. The construction of transcontinental railways, the building of new cities and towns in Western Canada, the improvement of waterways and harbours, and the provision of machinery and equipment for nearly 200,000 new farms constituted an uniquely large proportion of the total economic activity of the country. In 1912-13, nearly one-fourth of all the labour and productive facilities of the economy was either directly or indirectly engaged in the production of capital goods. The employment of these resources could not, of course, be financed entirely out of the current savings of Canadians. Much of the money was borrowed abroad. About one-half of the total capital invested in Canada during the pre-war wheat boom came from foreign sources. In 1913 capital imports rose to more than $500 million, a figure equal to almost one-fourth of the national income. Such huge external borrowings could not be continued indefinitely. The money was obtained from abroad for the purpose of enlarging the export capacity of the country and it was necessary at some time to slow down expansion to enable the use of the facilities for the production of increased exports.
The Generalized Bi-System Multiplier
Authors: Chipman John S.
Published: June 2006

Within recent years significant additions have been made to the theory of the multiplier in its application to the study of income movements among economic systems. It is the object of this paper to introduce a graphical method into the analysis of the bi-system multiplier, to develop a generalized formulation of the bi-system multiplier of which the formulas presented up to now are special cases, and to indicate a variety of uses (in addition to the familiar use in foreign trade problems) to which the concept may be put.
The Significance of the General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money
Authors: Elliott G. A.
Published: June 2006

The General Theory was written “with the object of persuading economists to re-examine critically certain of their basic assumptions.” In accomplishing this purpose it has been completely successful, for it has influenced a very large proportion of the economic writings, not only professional but popular as well, that have been published during the last twelve years. The purpose of this paper is not to attempt to predict the place in the history of economic thought which it will eventually occupy but rather to point out some of the fields in which its effects are already obvious and important. These effects are attributable on the one hand to its timeliness and on the other to its form and content.

In one sense its timeliness is obvious: during the twenties and thirties in Great Britain, and during the thirties in many other countries as well, unemployment had been severe and prolonged. But it was timely in a more general and significant sense. Many other shocking things had happened, too, and it may not be out of place to recall a few of the familiar details of the British setting. Britain had come through the war victorious and had proudly hitched the pound sterling to gold at the old par of exchange; but London was no longer supreme in international trade; in the early thirties it had fallen to a discount even in time of peace. Income from foreign property had diminished. International trade was decreasing in importance. Taxes were heavy; landed estates were being dismembered; naval supremacy was impaired; the formerly well disciplined English labourers now well organized had staged a general strike; tastes and technology were changing rapidly. In the east, in Russia, a new economic order had arisen; and in the west the United States had become the dominant power in wealth and productive capacity. In the past these things had occurred within a generation.
The Life and Work of John Rae
Authors: James R. Warren
Published: June 2006

Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk was a central figure in the windy discussions of the theory of capital and interest which occupied a prominent place in economic literature in the 1890's. The two volumes of his Kapital und Kapitalzins were translated into English in 1890 and 1891, which meant that his views were generally known to English-speaking economists. An American student of economics, Charles Whitney Mixter, who was aware both of Böhm-Bawerk's writings and of his high prestige, was therefore elated to find that an earlier and obscure Scotch-Canadian writer named John Rae appeared to have foreshadowed Böhm-Bawerk's theory of capital in some important respects. Mixter somewhat hastily announced his discovery of “A Forerunner of Böhm-Bawerk” in an article with this title in the Quarterly Journal of Economics for January, 1897. Today this label would perhaps be regarded as faint praise and happily it was quite wrong. Mixter's error had arisen out of a misunderstanding of Rae's ideas and it was soon corrected, although not before it was repeated by Irving Fisher.

Mixter's find was enthusiastically acclaimed by Fisher who wrote in February, 1897:

No economist who is interested in the theory of capital in any of its aspects can afford longer to let Mr. Rae's investigations go unread. His work is a magnificent specimen of true scientific method and a rare example of orderly and convincing exposition. His style too is easy, forceful and captivating and his fund of ready illustrations commands instant admiration. Not the least remarkable feature of this many-sided work is the clear conception of sociology, or “Natural History of Men,” which it contains. It is difficult to realize that Mr. Rae wrote before that science was definitely founded. In short, the “New principles of political economy” is truly a masterpiece, a book of a generation or a century. It was written before the world was ready for such painstaking analysis. Now that its merits have been pointed out by Mr. Mixter, it is sure to be accorded a high place among the classics of economic science.
Population Movement and Agrarian Depression in the Later Middle Ages
Authors: Helleiner K. F.
Published: June 2006

If it be true that every generation selects and reads historical evidence in the light of its own aspirations and anxieties, one should expect one's contemporaries to take some interest in, and show sympathetic understanding for, periods of social stresses and strains. Having passed through three and a half decades of political and economic upheavals, and having little reason for believing that the time of troubles has come to an end, this generation is likely to feel some affinity with past epochs that appear to have suffered from similar symptoms of a deep-rooted social malaise. Perhaps the historian may derive some comfort from the knowledge that his age is not unique in having to contend with what, in moments of despair, appears to be an adverse trend of a secular nature.

At one time or another during his studies every economic historian must have come up against questions that should have shocked him into a realization of the vast methodological difficulties of his subject. If, as the theorists insist, inter-personal comparisons of utility are illegitimate, how can the historian justify his practice of using such concepts as group welfare? If he cannot form aggregates, how can he hope to be able to compare the wealth of nations at different times? But even assuming that such comparisons were possible: do we have properly defined criteria of economic growth and decline, or of prosperity and depression? And if not, are we entitled to use these and similar ill-defined terms for the purpose of characterizing and contrasting different periods of economic history?
The Efficiency of Competition as an Allocator of Resources: I. External Economies of Production
Authors: Kemp Murray C.
Published: June 2006

Marshall and, later, Pigou were the first to question the competitive allocation of resources, arguing that “increasing-cost” industries produce beyond the optimal point and that the outputs of “decreasing-cost” industries fall short of the optimum. They proposed, on this basis, a system of taxes on the former group of industries, subsidies on the latter group. The criticism of Young, Robertson, and Knight almost completely destroyed the argument. At present, only when “external economies” (and “diseconomies”) play a part in determining the competitive supply function is it admitted that interference with the competitive allocation of resources may be justified.

Our purpose is to present diagrammatically the case for interference with the competitive allocation of resources when external economies of production are present. With the aid of three significant cross-classifications of economies we are able to arrive at several conclusions with policy implications of some importance. In particular, we seek to show that only under very special conditions will the incentive provided by subsidies restore the optimal allocation of resources. Section I is concerned with the definition of terms. Sections II to V provide the diagrammatic analysis, section VI states the policy implications of our results. Section VII briefly summarizes our earlier conclusions.

Throughout the discussion abstraction is made from any special disadvantages of government intervention. No consideration is given to the danger of bureaucratic corruption nor to the possibility that sectional interests will be advanced at the expense of the “general welfare.” Further, all problems of incentive attendant upon government intervention are neglected. Finally, the cost of collecting the revenue from which any net subsidies are to be paid is ignored.
Plato and Popper
Authors: Grant G. P.
Published: June 2006

In 1945 Professor K. R. Popper published a work on political theory called The Open Society and Its Enemies. It extols the “open” as against the “closed” society and criticizes those thinkers who have supposedly advocated the closed society. The first volume is concerned with criticizing Plato, whom Popper believes to be the chief totalitarian theorist of the ancient world; the second volume with the criticism of Hegel and Marx as the chief totalitarian theorists of modern Europe. This article sets out to refute what Popper says about Plato. Space forbids a defence of Hegel, although such a defence would be valuable these days when some men choose a few political sentences from Hegel, detach them from his central philosophic position, and put him in the same category as Marx. Nevertheless, Plato is a greater genius even than Hegel, so that the refutation of Popper's position can rest on what he says about the greatest of philosophers.

Such a defence is incumbent on a philosopher in these days, when no adequate understanding of Plato can be assumed. Indeed in North America, where the fides implictta of the social scientists has been empirical and pragmatic, Popper's thesis is liable to convince; for it is in essence a justification of that pragmatic tradition against the rationalism of Plato. Men who want to believe that there is such a thing as an independent “social science” can find in Popper reasons for doing so.
Forest Management and the Theory of Capital
Authors: Goundrey G. K.
Published: June 2006

The purpose of this article is to discuss some aspects of forest management; its justification is the undoubted importance of forest-based industries to the Canadian economy, particularly Canada's foreign trade. Economists and those who administer forests are not agreed on the fundamentals of forest management. Nor have administrators agreed on the way in which forests should be utilized. We will, however, describe only one rule for forest management formulated by those responsible for administering forests—maximum sustained yield—and compare that rule with the results of capital theory.

In order to keep the analysis clear and to the point, a simplified example, based on an actual study, will be used throughout this paper. This example allows the divergent conclusions of capital theory to be illustrated and compared with the results of adopting maximum sustained yield, the rule recommended by the forester in the study from which the example is drawn.

The analysis here makes no pretence at originality and provides no new rule for managing forests. But it might serve to bring divergent groups closer to mutual understanding, and set the stage for some discussion of forest management by economists in Canada. It has been suggested, particularly by Professor Keirstead and Professor Scott, that no new theory of resources is needed because existing theory is adequate. On the other hand, Dr. Lamontagne and Dr. Keenleyside have suggested that economists have been remiss because they have neglected resources. These conflicting views indicate a need for an appraisal of existing theory concerning the administration of resources.
Transport Costs in International Trade Theory
Authors: Mundell Robert A.
Published: June 2006

Transport costs have been somewhat neglected in international trade theory, most of which is expounded on the assumption that transport costs are absent. In this paper I shall present a simple geometric method for describing transport costs in offer-curve diagrams, and apply this method to consider the effects of transport costs on the terms of trade, the transfer problem, the optimum tariff, and real factor returns.

To avoid introducing a third industry—the transport industry—it will be necessary to employ a drastic, but very useful assumption regarding the nature of transport costs. I shall assume that transport costs are met by the wastage of a proportion of the goods traded. This assumption will mean that: if each country provides the resources for transporting its own exports, then only a proportion of the goods exported will be received as imports by the other country, the remainder being used up as costs of transport; if each country provides the resources for transporting its imports, then a proportion of its exports will be used up for every unit of the other country's good imported; and if each country shares in the transport of each good, some of each country's resources will be used up in transporting each good. The meaning of this assumption will become clearer later in the paper.