"OUTLINES OF ECONOMICS."

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 76, 29 March 1924, Page 18

"OUTLINES OF ECONOMICS."

In compiling this Interesting and' valuable book, Professor B. E. Murphy, j of Victoria College, Wellington, has, brought together, in a form well- j adapted for the use of University stu-1 dents, a very large amount of infonna- j tion on all the more important economic 1 problems and topics. There is an intro- I duetion of a general character dealing j with the logical and scientific aspects I of the study; and the general plan of, the work is set forth clearly in the ! list of contents. Unfortunately there is nothing in the main body of the book j to indicate this plan or to enable the! student to pass naturally and easily from one division of the subject to another, and the book as a whole is thus, to some extent, incoherent and fragmentary. It is indeed an encyclopaedia of reference for the student of, economics rather than a treatise on economics in the accepted sense of the, term. But with this limitation it pro- ; vides students with precisely the; material they require for examination ■ purposes. Professor Murphy has dis-, played great industry and ability in j the performance of his difficult task. | The chief defect of the book is its | diffuseness, due largely to the persist-1 ent efforts of the writer to dissect and analyse ideas that are fairly obvious and to present evidence at great length even to the most trivial detail. Among I many sections of the book which are to 1 some extent spoiled by this tendency to ; elaborate unduly, may bo mentioned those dealing with joint stock com- ■ panics, trade cycles, patents, State intervention, competition, the nature and movements of interest. Long dissertations, involving the careful discussion of tolerably familiar ideas, are liable to distract tho attention of the student from the main lines of his work, and to , cloud judgment rather than to assist in the formation of rational opinions. As a matter of order or arrangement, it eeema unfortunate that the theory of I value is reserved for treatment so lato, in the book, for it is difficult to form j a clear conception of economic problems even while dealing with production j without some preliminary view of value, i As to the controversial aspects of j economic problems, Professor Murphy i has, generally speaking, taken care to j state-the arguments fi.t great length on. both eides, and has usually lcit his j readers to draw their own conclusions. £n spite of this it is to be feared that, his criticism of the Bimetallic system ! would hardly satisfy Bimetalliots, and; it is certain that Protectionists would j refuse to be content with the arguments , that he advances against Protection and 1 in favour of Free Trade. But though; the book is thus in some respects j to criticism, it is an extremely useful i compendium of economic facts and theories. In his prefatory quotation 1 from Mill, Professor Murphy expressly , disclaims originality; but ho deserves j great credit for the production of a j book admirably adapted for the re- \ quirements of students —more especially i advanced students—who, oppressed by \ the immense number and variety of' text books, will certainly welcome these "Outlines" as a guide in threading the devious mazes of economic study. ("Outlines of Economics," by B. E. Murphy, Professor of Economics, Victoria College, Wellington. Wbitcombe | and Tombs, Ltd.) j