NATIONAL INCOME

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 172, 17 April 1937, Page 7 (Supplement)

NATIONAL INCOME

An Illuminating Study of English Conditions

“National Income and Outlay,” by Colin Clark. (London: Macmillan.)

No one who has thought of the concept of national income as something of a mystery has any further need to think that way. Mr. Colin Clark’s new book is an illuminating study of the nature of the national income of England, how it is produced and how distributed. It is especially important in that it assesses realistically the economic position of the country over the past five years, and the accurate statistical analysis of the income and consumption of various social groups during the opening period of the slump is a work of permanent worth. Beyond giving careful statistical estimates, Mr. Clark shows exceptional ability in drawing out their significant conclusions. In the early part of the book Mr. Clark deals with the effects that the threatened decline in population may have upon the national income. He agrees that the proportion of children will continue to decrease and that the numbers of the aged will rapidly increase, but he does not see in this the disastrous results that some would anticipate. He shows that during the last generation the community has been considerably enriched without effort on the part of its members simply due to its changing age composition and the increasing proportion of persons of income earning age. He anticipates that this tendency will continue for many years and states that this gain in productivity should rightly be regarded as a form of biological capital and a long-term economic policy should attempt to convert part of this additional productivity into capital goods in view of the anticipated adversity of the age composition of the population in later generations. The most remarkable effect which will show itself from now on is a relative shortage of female labour, and a consequent rise in women’s wages. Mr. Clark finds that the figures for national income can be accurately determined for the years since 1924. The net national income rose from £4035 millions in 1924 to £4384 millions in 1929, fell during the slump to a minimum of £3844 in 1932 and rose to a new high level of £4530 in 1935. Money wages in 1935 exceeded their 1929 level and profits likewise realised their highest level to date in 1935. Profits, however, now take a lesser proportion and salaries a considerably greater part of the national income than hitherto. This is due to the replacement of independent employers by salaried managers and the great increase in the number of well-paid salaried posts. The increase in the share of the workers and lower salaried classes is not so well marked.

Changes in the distribution of income by State and local taxation are discussed. The lower paid groups benefit by public services amounting to £429 millions a year as against taxation of £338 millions. Other questions dealt with by Mr. Clark are the accumulation of capital, the rate of economic progress, and the changes of consumption, investment, prices and costs in the presest trade cycle. An attractive chapter is given to a discussion of Gregory King’s estimates of the national income in 1088. Altogether this is a most significant contribution to our knowledge of the processes that affect contemporary economic life, and it will be of inestimable value alike to the statistician, economist and legislator. A CLERGYMAN’S FAMILY “Not With Me,” by Marjorie Deans (London: Gollancz). Miss Marjorie Deans's “Not With Me,” a first novel, is a quiet study of a clergyman and his family, a little too quiet, in fact, for though the characters have the breath of life in them, they cannot be said to pulsate with vitality. Yet there is. an air of tranquility about the book which is satisfying. The members of the family are Howard Farmiloe, who, at the age of 50-odd, has lost interest in life and religion and leaves for a tour of Italy in the hopes of recapturing faith and pleasure in existence, his son Edward, and his three daughters, Margaret, unhappily married, Catherine engaged in a love affair with a local dentist, and Helen, an undergraduate. The story is interesting in spite of its lack of highlights, and Miss Deans writes delightfully in smooth, unaffected prose wbicli is a joy to read. BOOKS’ RECEIVED Books as listed hereunder have been received from the following publishers: Angus and Robertson: ‘‘The Greyhound,” by B. A. McMichan. Bell: “Colonel's Lady,” by Leonora Starr. Dent: “The Porch,” by Richard Church. Duckworth: “The Brittlesnaps,” by Edward A. Hibbitt. Hodder and Stoughton: “Salute the King,” by Arthur Mee. “The Dumb Gods Speak,” by E. Phillips Oppenheim. Longmans: “Horseman on Foot," by Alary Nich■»leon>