THE MACMILLAN COMPANY ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO (REVISED EDITION) BY RICHARD T. ELY, Ph.D., LL.D. PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN REVISED AND ENLARGED BY THE AUTHOR AND THOMAS S. ADAMS, Ph.D. OF WISCONSIN MAX O. LORENZ, Ph.D. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN THE UNIVERSITY BUREAU OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS ALLYN A. YOUNG, Ph.D. UNIVERSITY New York 1910 All rights reserved 594473 COPYRIGHT, 1893, COPYRIGHT, 1908, First published elsewhere. Reprinted May, 1900; July, October, New edition, revised and enlarged, September, October, 1908; Norwood Press Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. PREFACE SINCE the first edition of the Outlines of Economics was published fifteen years ago, there has been considerable progress in economic discussion. In this revision an attempt has been made to include so much of the new thought as seems to have established itself. No chapters remain unaltered, most of them have been entirely rewritten, and some new ones have been added. But the plan of the former edition has been retained. This book differs from the Elementary Principles of Economics, published in 1904 by Ely and Wicker, in that it is a more advanced treatise, and intended primarily for college and university use; whereas the latter, although used in a number of higher institutions, is intended primarily for high schools. Four persons have taken part in this revision, but a free interchange of criticism has, it is hoped, resulted in a unified product. Numerous passages, amounting in the aggregate to many pages, have been printed in smaller type. Such are the passages which, either from their greater difficulty or from their subsidiary character, may best be omitted by a teacher pressed for time. Moreover, for classes in which the time limits are too narrow to permit careful study of the whole text, it may be found expedient to omit Book III, on Public Finance; while, on the other hand, some teachers may wish to take this Book up for independent study. Considerable attention has been given to the questions at the close of each chapter, and an endeavor has been made to frame these so as to require a mastery of principles to answer them. Perusal of the text alone will not enable one to answer them all. In some cases it will be necessary to use the references to literature given at the close of chapters. There are also cases in which the correct answer must be a matter open to differences of opinion. It is hoped and believed that the questions will give rise to fruitful class discussions. |