SEMAINE D'ÉTUDE SUR LE ROLE DE L’ANALYSE ECONOMETRIQUE ETC. 497 
This would be what I call the pre-programming attitude. To me the 
rate of increase in consumption is something that will come out of 
a programming analysis, which starts from much more basic data. 
Now only one more remark which is not as important as the two 
ârst I made; that is regarding the procedure of taking the rate of 
saving as an instrument in the political sense. I do not see how 
you can take the rate of saving as a political instrument because it 
's not something on which the policy maker can decide. It is not 
one of his parameters of action. The saving rate is rather one of the 
consequences that will emerge from his decisions on a lot of other 
things. It is a consequence from his decision upon action and 
ran only be spoken about in the post-programming sense, not in 
a pre-programming ses.” 
| EONTIEF 
In presenting his method of sequential decision-making, Profes 
sor THEIL apparently commits the decision maker to use the same 
procedure in each stage of the process. But is this really necessary: 
Can one not view each step of the process as involving a decision 
over a limited interval of time at the end of which all the available 
‘nformation, including the information concerning the correctness 
of previous anticipations, provides a new, essentially independent 
basis for the next decision? The possibility of modifying the deci- 
sion rule itself from one period of time to the next should not 
ye excluded. 
ISHER 
i have a question related to a simulation experiment not 
performed by Professor THEIL. One of the results of hi: —-- 
hat, in terms of the criterion function as a whole, .he 
approach does about ro ner cent better than what Professor 
Ty 
““HEII 
7 
Theil - pag. 33