ABSTRACT
Analysis of the dynamic properties of two or more interrelated systems is a recurrent problem in social science theory. This chapter aims to call the attention of social scientists outside the field of mathematical economics to two related theorems in this area. The system is said to be completely decomposable, and it is obvious that it really consists of several independent systems each one of which can be analyzed separately without reference to any of the others. While the assumption of complete decomposability (or ceteris paribus) is often convenient to make, it is seldom likely to be fully satisfied in practice. The Simon-Ando theorem asserts the following: Carry out the analysis of the system on the assumption that it is really completely decomposable. For nearly decomposable systems that are not nearly completely decomposable the Andofisher theorem yields substantially the same results as the Simon-Ando theorem does for the nearly completely decomposable case.
