SEMAINE D’ETUDE SUR LE ROLE DE L’ANALYSE ECONOMETRIQUE ETC. 5067 
VIALINVAUD 
No, I am not! I am in full agreement with Professor DORFMAN. 
[he preceding comments are merely intended to show what I had 
n mind when speaking of the motivations for a research. 
VAHALANOBIS 
[ do not think there are basic differences of opinion but while 
agreeing with many of the observations made here, I am trying tc 
Iraw attention to one point — that when certain periods, 10 years 
or 15 years, are taken as the time horizon in making government 
Jecisions, there are necessarily makeshift arrangements. In an 
inderdeveloped country which starts experiments in the way of 
making policy decisions which are intended to be implemented (I am 
calling these experiments), and also starts exercises in the way of 
building models, sometimes it may be possible to feed the models 
oy numerical data or sometimes it may not be. There is a more 
general point about models which also require information other than 
statistical data in a numerical form. I was therefore speaking of 
wider experience by which I meant in respect of any model, jud- 
gement as to what are relevant factors, or what are their order of 
priority. I have an impression that there is sometimes a good deal 
of faith in model making which with the help of very highpowered 
“omputors would supply push-button solutions. This is why I refer- 
‘ed to the limits of usefulness, depending on whether a model is 
“apable of being fed by quantitative data or involving non-quanti- 
ative judgements, or factors of selection, and also to what extent 
he solution depends on the degree of accuracy of the information 
which has to be supplied in a quantitative form. One great service 
io the underdeveloped countries would be to discuss the usefulness 
1s well as the limitations of models in application to practical affairs. 
| 
Morishima - pag. 39