P. P. Sveistrup: Economic Principles of the Greenland Administration before 1947. Meddelelser Grønland, Bd. 150, nr. 1. København 215 pages. Price: Kr. 18.50.

»Economic Principles of the Greenland Administration before 1947« is the title of a book by P. P. Sveistrup, published a few years ago. The basis of these principles and their justification may well have been a major concern of Mr. Sveistrup in writing book, but the subject he deals with is actually much broader. The resulting si \a\y combines a description of the Greenland past and present, with a record of Danish official Greenland policies well as official and unofficial thinking concerning these policies, and an economic analysis of basic factors determining type of economy which prevails in Greenland plus the author's thoughts concerning the ways in which the social and economic welfare of Greenland's population best be furthered. Mr. Sveistrup brings to his task an extensive knowledge of the economic history of Greenland, the analytic tools of economic thinking, and a deep concern for the welfare of the people of Greenland. The result is a book of absorbing first and foremost to anyone in Greenland and its problems. my knowledge, it is the only major piece of work dealing with the problems and basis of Greenland's economy

and for this reason alone it might well be required reading for anyone concerned v/ith these problems. But furthermore, it is an interesting example of how an economic of an underdeveloped area may be tackled, a problem which has puzzled many in recent years. For in a relatively primitive economy, social, cultural economic factors are so closely interwoven, in fact often identical^—that economic analysis without constant reference these other aspects of the situation of little avail. Mr. Sveistrup, though an economist, is too well acquainted with the problems of Greenland to be tempted to onesided economic analysis of his subject neglect of social and historical factors.

Mr. Sveistrup's treatment of his subject may perhaps be summarized in the following For more than a century the question has recurrently been raised: Should Greenland remain a closed economy, with the Danish Government acting as buffer between it and the outside world, or should free enterprise and free trading intercourse between Greenland and the outside world be permitted? History tells us that whenever the question has come up for serious debate the final conclusion has always been that the economy is too vulnerable and the population not mature enough to cope with the problems of a free economy, although this should be the ultimate Not content with the dictum of the past Mr. Sveistrup proceeds to analyze the situation on the basis of available statistical data. His findings indicate that Greenland's economy is extremely vulnerable, the products Greenland has to offer are of no consequence to the world market, (except in times of great shortages), the things Greenland imports are of vital importance to that country. Furthermore, the prices of Greenland's export are subject to extreme fluctuation ^—far greater than those of her import products. In times of economic depression Greenland's economy, considered as a whole, may well become submarginal. From the point of view of a free, competitive tiveeconomy it would not be possible to maintain trade with Greenland in such a situation. Since it would be out of the question to leave the Greenlanders to fend for themselves in a depression period, a Governmental economic buffer policy is necessary if the Greenlanders are to survive.

This fact established, Mr. Sveistrup considers it is possible for the Government i. e. the Royal Greenland Trade to apply ordinary business principles in its trade relation with Greenland_—specifically it is possible to make the various activities of the Royal Greenland and the various commodities imported and exported, bear their share of the costs incurred. This, Mr. Sveistrup claims, is not possible. Using the device of considering the whole Greenland economy an economic unit of which the Ptoyal Greenland Trade is in charge he finds, on the basis of much statistical evidence, that most of the costs of the Greenland economy are in the nature of fixed costs, because they are necessary to satisfy the most basic needs of existence of the population. Consequently, the price policy of the Royal Greenland Trade in relation to Greenland must resemble that of industries with high fixed costs and be hased on such principles as »what the traffic will bear«. In other words, the price policy becomes one which depends on decisions of the administration, after considering all relevant facts, including those of social welfare.

Thus, Mr. Sveistrup's conclusions do not support the theory that economic relations with Greenland can be based on the principles a free economy. They amount to a justification of the basic principles applied before 1947, which he set out to analyze. That does not mean that he does not consider it possible to expand activities Greenland beyond their former level and increase the standard of living of the population. But it is a basic tenet of Mr. Sveistrup that in trying to improve the standard of living of the Greenlanders one must not lose sight of the fact that the

economic geography of an area must be the basis of its economic and social structure. greater the deviation between basis and superstructure, the greater the problems involved in making the population how the system functions and accept the limitations which always must exist in respect of what is economically politically feasible. The greater also the cost to Denmark of keeping the economy functioning at the chosen level, a cost which Mr. Sveistrup warns will have to be borne also in less prosperous times.

Though one may disagree concerning details, Mr. Sveistrup's findings appear on the whole very well founded and difficult dispute. If I should voice a criticism Mr. Sveistrup's book, it would be directed towards the presentation of his ideas rather than the ideas themselves. There is an unfortunate lack of clarity of argumentation. Ideas and conclusions are not well pointed up. It is sometimes a laborious process to find out what is the real content and aim of a paragraph. Perhaps fact that the book was written in Danish and translated into English accounts for some loss of pointedness. However, this criticism is minor in comparison the contribution to knowledge understanding of Greprs'ami with which Mr. Sveistrup has presentedus. But for this book there would be a great gap in the rich Danish scientific literature concerning Greenland,