The Journal of Economic Literature - March 1969 [antikvár]

Editors NoteTHE PLANThe Journal of Economic Literature, the lineal successor to the Journal of Economic Abstracts (hence, this is Volume VII), is designed to help practicing economists keep abreast of the vast flow of literature. At present there are published each year between 1,300 and 1,500 books associated in some significant sense with the discipline. More than 250 journals (usually having four to six issues per year), carrying in toto more than 5,000 major articles, are also published each year.The first section of each issue of the Journal of Economic Literature provides (a) a comprehensive and balanced review of the recent literature in some subfield of economics,(b)one or more essays giving the reactions of generally recognized leading economists to his (or her) recent professional reading, and(c)when appropriate, a review article on some particularly outstanding book. Occasionally, as in this issue, an article pertaining to the journals or books generally, or comments on previous contributions, will also appear.The second section of the Journal of Economic Literature provides both an annotated listing of new books in economics and conventional book reviews of a major fraction of new works. All books received by the editor will be listed with an annotation in the first issue going to press after receipt of the book. Reviews of those books selected for that purpose perforce will come out in a later (but I hope not much later) issue. Both the annotated listings and the book reviews are arranged according to a two-level classification scheme recommended by a special American Economic Association ad hoc committee on classification. The two-level classification outline appears at the beginning of the section, on page 124. The annotated listings are cross-referenced to sub-fields that are secondarily (or even tertiarily) covered by the book inquestion. Accordingly, readers interested in a particular subfield (e.g., monetary economics) would find under that heading all books which fall primarily into that area and, in addition, cross-references to any books listed under other headings that have substantial relevance to, overlap with, monetary economics. To facilitate the cross-referencing, each book carries a number (e.g., 69-0001). The first two digits refer to the date when the book in question is listednot necessarily when it was first published.The third section of the Journal of Economic Literature pertains to articles in journals. This section includes the tables of contents of over 175 current economic journals; a classified listing of all articles appearing in these journals; and abstracts, written by the authors, from contributing journals. These articles are presently classified according to a three-level scheme; in the relatively near future we hope to adopt a four-level scheme. The three-level classification outline appears at the beginning of the section, on page 194. Where a single article fits under more than one classification, its citation is repeated as frequently as necessary.A PLEAThe Journal of Economic Literature can only be as good as the members of the profession find it useful. The editors earnestly request suggestions for improving the organization of the contents. The format is significantly dictated by a compromise between cost considerations and aesthetic preferences. It is particularly important that readers noting errors or omissions in the classifying of articles send us corrections immediately; we propose to use the classified lists to compile an annual or biannual Index of Economic Journals. Kindly specify what are errors and what are omissions.M.P.