SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.— F. 379 



Schulze-Goevernitz Aftalion, Copeland, and later students; (c) in comparing 

 British and American industry by means of tlie Census of Manufactures and 

 the Census of Production. Difficulties involved in employing these measures 

 to gauge the relative position of an industry in different countries, or to judge 

 of the varying etticiency of the factors of production in each case. The influence 

 of industrial and agrarian policy, the scale of production, and other causes, upon 

 the relative position of an industry in different countries. 



5. Prof. A. L. BowLEY. — A Comparison of Wholesale and Retail 



Prices Since the War. 



Three pairs of series are taken for the thirty-seven months, April 1919 to 

 April 1922: {a) Retail food-index and the 'Statist' wholesale food-index; 

 (6) retail food-index with four seasonal commodities removed and the wholesale 

 food-index; (c) cost-of-living index and the ' Statist' general index. A number 

 of methods having been tried for finding a formula connecting retail and whole- 

 sale prices, it is found that in (a) and {b) the connection is closer between 

 retail prices and wholesale three months earlier than with any other time lag, 

 while in (c) a four months' lag gives the best result. 



If p is written for the retail price-index in any month, p_i p_.2 ... for 

 retail price-indices in the two previous months, and P.o P-a ... for wholesale 

 indices similarly, the best equations found are — 



(a) p = 50.5 + .524P_3 + .213p.2 (6.1), 



(b) p = 38 + .497P-.-i -f .28p_.2 (6.9), 



(c) p = 102.4 + .494P.4 (5.9), 



where the mean differences between the formula and the actual records are 

 given in brackets. 



If two exceptional periods of four months each are removed a formula for 

 (c) (p = 103.6+.476P.4) gives a mean difference for the remaining months of 

 only 3.6 points, or 1.7 per cent., and the coefficient of correlation is .991. In 

 each case the pre-War index is taken as 100. 



6. Mr. W. Hamilton Whyte. — The War and Stock Markets. 



Conditions governing stock markets before the War. Different types of 

 transactions described, including s^ystem of ' carry over.' Outbreak of hostilities 

 and closing of Stock Exchange. House reopened under special restrictions by 

 which speculative dealings were prohibited. Abolition of carry-over system 

 had three results : (1) Increase of loan accounts with banks against stock pur- 

 chases. (2) Increase of banks' influence over markets. (3) Less critical view 

 of the influence of the ' bear ' on stability of markets. Criticism and defence 

 of banks' policy during the rise and fall. Effects of the War on stockbroking 

 twofold : (1) Changed the structure of the business; (2) diverted capital from 

 fixed-interest-bearing securities into more speculative stocks. This shows a 

 change of policy on the part of the pure investor. A perusal of market values 

 from 1914-20 suggests (1) that there has been a steady fall in price of fixed- 

 interest-bearing securities concurrently with extensive Government borrowings ; 

 (2) the application of such loans to war production gave security to certain 

 classes of speculative stocks which enhanced their market values. This con- 

 dition only temporary. Need for higher standard of business training and 

 greater co-operation between universities and the business world. 



Monday, September 11. 



7. Presidential Address by Prof. F. J. Edgeworth on Equal Pay 



to Men and Women for Equal Work. (See p. 106.) 



8. Mr. C. F. BiCKERDiKE. — The Question of the Possibility of Con- 



trolling Industrial Fluctu^timis . 



The paper related to normal circumstances of peace-time. Something has 

 to be said about causes of fluctuations. Weather cycles may affect the dates 



