The Logic of British and American Industry [antikvár]

PREFACE Since my Logic of Industrial Organization, on which this present book is partly based, appeared in 1933, facts have changed and so have the records of the facts. In particular, data collected by the British Census of Production are now presented in a way that facilitates comparison with America in many structural features, such as the size or location of factories and the degree of concentration of an industry in a few hands. My own research into official records of English Joint Stock companies alsó permits comparison of large-scale industrial government in both countries. This book deals with the more persistent structure of a country's industry, and it is not necessary for its thesis, except where changes are discussed, to have the very latest news. But it is good at last to have a soiid and firmly constructed foundation of fact on which to build, officially recorded for both countries. In the search for the underlying logic of industrial organization the possibilities of such measured comparison justifies the focus on Britain and America implied in the title of this book. The sub-title indicates that though realistic and not an exercise in abstract economic theory, this work is not merely descriptive. My realistic form of analysis has been developed over a long period and I am forced to refer for details to earlier works at many points. To save space, and spare the reader boredom, I have omitted repetition of the titles of the chief books involved and have been content to give dates only, thus: Florence, 1929, stands for my Statistical Method in Economies and Political Science. Florence, 1933, stands for my Logic of Industrial Organization. Florence, 1948, stands for my Investment, Location and Size of Plánt. Other abbreviations for sources. hallowed in this case by common usage, are: T.N.E.C. =Temporary National Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress 1939-41. N.R.C. =National Resources Committee, which was foílowed by the N.R.P.B. = National Resources Planning Board, in issuing reports from 1937-1943 on the U.S. economy. H.M.S.O.=Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London. v