Analytical Tools for Measuring Demand

Excerpt from the report Preface: Considerable progress has been made in recent years in developing methods to be used in analyzing the factors that affect prices and consumption of individual commodities. This handbook discusses certain methods which appear to be of value for this purpose. Some of them are relatively standardized; others were developed only recently. These latter have been applied in only a few cases. In most instances, examples are included which indicate specific ways in which these techniques can be used. The handbook is designed mainly to acquaint research workers in agricultural economics and related subjects with some of the recent developments in the field. No attempt was made to cover all new developments that apply, although many of the more important elements in analysis of demand are touched upon. Use of the handbook presumes a general knowledge of the theories of price and demand and of the standard techniques of regression analysis. Some of the sections also presume a knowledge of college algebra and some of the notes in the Appendix, of calculus. But the conclusions are presented in nonmathematical terms, so that, except for certain developmental or explanatory sections, the handbook as a whole can be used by those not acquainted with higher mathematics.