‘THE SCOTTISH ECONOMY’

S ince the beginning of this century much effort has gone into increasing the catalogue of facts about our national life. More recently, the mere amassing of data has been given new meaning by the growth of applied economics. The attempt to interpret facts, the essential of applied economics, has not, however, made the progress that might have been expected. For one thing, the old idea of statistics as the mere assembly of figures still holds out attractions for the unadventurous. Much of the current effort of statisticians, whether in Government service, the universities or in private trade, goes into marshalling facts in publications which vie with Bradshaw in complexity and in painting broad pictures that make only minor contributions to our knowledge of ‘the way things work’. In this respect statisticians have much in common with librarians whose happiness seems to depend on having books on the shelves rather than in use. Again, the attraction of a quick return for a minimum of effort has meant that research has not developed as uniformly as it might have done. In some fields a wealth of information has resulted in comparatively detailed research, but there is still a large area where little work has been done.