ABSTRACT
In the realm of applied economics only the beginnings of a scientific method of study have been made. With the theory of public finance as an important exception, traces of it are only to be found in scattered portions of the subject. Principally since the war, there has been some study of the relation of monetary theory to the problem of price-stability. If the contribution of applied economics is to be a positive one, it must take into account those cases where political and psychological and economic factors interact. The effect of a certain change on the mental reactions of those affected might be more important than its direct effect on material output. The forte of the laissez-faire and individualist position is the claim that the major part of economic activities is better left to unconscious operation than disciplined to conscious control and plan. In fact, it is the claim of anarchism in the economic sphere.
