Dependency Rates and Savings Rates: Reply

Arthur Goldberger's comment is a tempest in a teacup. This is readily verified from the data presented in Table 1. This table reproduces from my original paper the coefficients for paired equations estimated with three different samples in which In S/N and In S/Y were the dependent variables. As the data of Table 1 indicate, in 7 of the 12 cases, the coefficients are identical through the second decimal place. Furthermore, all the discrepancies are quantitatively very small. In 9 cases, the paired parameter estimates are within 1 percent of each other. In the remaining cases, the differences are of the magnitude of .0825, .0012, and .0011. These are well within the margins of accuracy within which anyone views data generated from the national income accounts of the less developed countries. In light of these considerations, it is difficult to understand the tone of Goldberger's comment. The reason for the slight discrepancies is straightforward. My observations for S/N and S/Y were computed separately from data supplied by the Statistical Office of the Agency for International Development. With