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Annual variations are often more brutal for nuptiality than they are for other demographic phenomena. Short-term economic movements, in particular, seem to have a more direct impact. In the long run, however, nuptiality is generally considered as a much more stable factor than, say, fertility which has undergone profound changes in all industrialized countries over the past hundred years. In this article the social scientists will attempt to study these recent trends in the light of longer-term ones, by comparing nuptiality movements in four countries: Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. In this paper, they study the nuptiality of birth cohorts by calculating the proportion ever-married at age 50, and mean age at first marriage. Data are not always strictly comparable between one census and another, especially in Canada and the United States where geographical coverage has varied through time. However, the numbers involved were small. Moreover, the definition of marital status has not been changed, at least not the basic distinction between single and ever-married. Through a study of nuptiality trends for the single for about a hundred different birth cohorts, they will attempt to determine whether attitudes towards marriage have changed. But first, they must eliminate the structural effects which affect the phenomenon studied. For instance, marriage becomes more difficult for women and female nuptiality decreases when there is a scarcity of potential male partners.

Presents information related to several abstracts on economics published in the June 1962 issue of the journal 'The Economic Record.' Marginal labor and investment coefficients of Australian manufacturing industry; Economic analysis of investment in New Zealand manufacturing from 1957-58; Private savings banks in Australia from 1956-60; Soviet investment policy.

The article deals with the recent widespread increase in marriage rates in the Western world. A convenient method of studying aspects of the recent history of marriage is provided by easily available data regarding the proportion of single persons at various dates. The article uses these data to disentangle two effects in the marriage boom: the extent to which the cohorts whose marriages have formed the main contribution to the marriage boom are marrying more, i.e. whether the proportion who will ultimately remain single is likely to be lower than in previous generations, the extent to which the mean age at marriage of these generations is likely to fall below that of their predecessors. The raw material for the computations to be presented consists of the proportions single at two recent dates for each of thirteen countries used in the study. The countries included in the study are Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England and Wales, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. The study from the proportion single shows that both reduction in the age at marriage and an increase in the proportion marrying at least once in the course of their lives is occurring in several countries.

The article comments on the paper "Prices, Wages and Industrial Productivity in Australia and New Zealand," by E. Lerdau and J. Rowe published in the February 1956 issue of "The Quarterly Journal of Economics." The paper discusses the association between productivity and size of establishment. The authors find a very close association, and in the case of a "test industry" a significant correlation. High output and high productivity are obviously positively associated. If one measures the size of a firm by the volume of its output, one will get a positive correlation between productivity and size of firm. When such spurious correlation is presented as significant, it may create the impression that high productivity is possible only in large firms. The article also makes use of several mathematical formulas to examine between productivity and size of establishment.

The article describes the effects of rabbit grazing on the grasslands of Macquarie Island, located mid-way between New Zealand and Antarctica. The two widespread dominant species in the grasslands are the Poa foliosa and Stilbocarpa polaris, while the Polystichum vestitum and Poa hamiltoni are the co-dominants that are not widely developed. The article states that the effects of rabbits are due to the selective grazing of only the most number of species. In addition, remote plant communities consisting of few species are likely to be susceptible to rabbit invasion.

The article presents a discussion on the vegetation of grass verges and explores the grass habitats which are regarded as excessively trodden places. It is implied that a considerable degree of similarity exist between the vegetation of the trampled grass verge found on highways and that of the grassy footpath or the sheep track situated whether on lowlands or at high elevation. The article is supplemented with details regarding the botanical composition of the plant communities, ecological distribution, climatic and edaphic backgrounds, and observations drawn from investigating samples coming from Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.

Presents several abstracts related to economics, published in the December 1962 issue of the journal 'The Economic Record.' Economy of New Zealand in 1962; Industrial courts and women's wages in Australia; Marriages of migrants in Australia.

IT WOULD SEEM then that the achievements of countries like Australia and New Zealand are worthy of emulation. Much constructive work, of course, is being done in the United States. For instance, the College of Agriculture at the University of Wyoming has succeeded in adding 3 pounds to the weight of the fleece during the past five to ten years by instructing Wyoming sheepmen how to breed large, sturdy sheep that bear low-shrinkage, high-quality wool. The government also is expanding its research in breeding and marketing practices; but unfortunately, the government seems to have the unhappy faculty of nullifying its constructive efforts by destructive activities. For example, long and short hedging in wool and wool top futures against price uncertainties is a legitimate instrument that wool growers, wool dealers and manufacturers can use to protect themselves from financial loss, but this was made more or less difficult in 1946 by the ceiling prices and the actions of the CCC. But if wool growing is to survive in this country, it must retain its traditional characteristic of freedom, for from the very beginning of time, the pastoral life has always been the freest element in any country's economy. Thus the sheep farmers must be taught to help themselves, as they must learn more about their business and give the market what it wants. But they cannot gain this knowledge by crouching behind trade barriers and leaning on subsidies, for in the last analysis, competition is the only real educator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]