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The American society is undoubtedly in a great transition period towards a post‐industrial state. While wholeheartedly celebrating the bi‐centennial birthday, uncertainty and confusion still pervade the United States, and a discontent with the quality of life seems to have been growing concomitantly with the technological know how and material wealth among people in America. These phenomena have developed as a result of conflicting values: “operative values” in the industrial state and the “declared values” important in the founding of the nation. While the former is characterised by the indefinite economic persuasion, the latter is highlighted by concerns with equality, justice and freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

This register of current research in social economics has been compiled by the International Institute of Social Economics. The register does not claim to be comprehensive but is merely an aid for research workers and institutions interested in social economics. The register will be updated and made more comprehensive in the future but this is largely dependent on the inflow of information from researchers in social economics. In order to facilitate this process a standardised form is to be found on the last page of this register. Completed forms, with attached sheets as necessary, should be returned to the compiler: Dr Barrie O. Pettman, Director, International Institute of Social Economics, Enholmes Hall, Patrington, Hull, N. Humberside, England, HU12 OPR. Any other comments on the register will also be welcome.

In 1971 Land argued that a social indicator should be a component, that is a parameter or a variable, in a sociological model of a social system or some segment of a social system. This was the first strong suggestion that social indicators needed to be more than some sort of statistical series. Lineberry et al, writing on the use of indicators by municipalities, warned that the first conceptual limitation which should be identified when promoting social indicator use must be the poor record of indicators in detecting causal relationships among various factors contributing to a specific social problem. They attribute this inability to the general lack of social theory. Bunge points out that the very definition of a social indicator of some life quality contains a causal notion relating that indicator to well‐being. This would be acceptable if there were a science of well‐being or at least some reasonable model. He goes on “since no such thing has been constructed so far, we are forced to use our treacherous common‐sense to an extent that is uncommon in science. Which is a polite way of saying that, so far, the study of the quality of life has not been thoroughly scientific.”