National Income Between Wars

The most definitive study of the U.S. national income appeared last week.* It was an eight-year study by the No. 1 student of what the U.S. earns for itself, University of Pennsylvania's Simon Kuznets. Studded with tables, and with warnings about what Mr. Kuznets calls "the penumbra of conceptual and statistical vagueness," it is bound to become a dogeared source book for students of the U.S. economy. It also has some conclusions of interest to laymen about that economy's 20 between-war years (1919-38):

P:The proportion of U.S. income derived from agriculture, mining, manufacturing and construction was 5.5% less in the 1929-38 decade than in the preceding one (for the whole period,it averaged 38.2%); the contribution of public utilities and distribution declined 1.3 % (average: 19-8%), while the share contributed by service industries and Government rose 6.8% (average: 41.9%).

P:Over half the national income came from industries in which unincorporated firms predominate. Industries dominated by private corporations produced 23.2%, "semipublic" 12.8%, Government 11.6%.

P:For the whole 20-year period, national income, based on 1929 prices, averaged $70 billion a year (v. $87.1 billion for 1929, $55.6 for 1932).

P:Population grew faster than income: "real" national income per capita and per person gainfully occupied declined over the period. But wages and salaries, as a percentage of total income, rose (from 57 to 61%), while business savings and withdrawals showed a sharp decrease (27-17%).

*National Income and Its Composition, 1919-38; National Bureau of Economic Research; two vol.; $5.

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