NATIONAL DIVIDEND. National Income has been de fined as "the aggregate money expression of those goods pro duced, and services performed, by the inhabitants of a country, which are, as a fact, generally exchanged for money." The terms National Income and National Dividend are convertible, only the latter is more significant "when we are looking at the national income in the character of the new sources of enjoyment that are available for distribution" (Marshall), i.e., the flow or fund, be fore it is assigned to individuals. This may be looked at in two sharply contrasted ways : "the flow produced during a year, or, the flow consumed." Dr. Marshall said "The labour and capital of the country, acting on its natural resources, produce annually a certain net aggregate of commodities, material and immaterial, including services of all kinds. This is the true net annual income or revenue of the country, or the national dividend." (Of course, services rendered by people to themselves, that they might have received from others and paid for, are not counted, otherwise the money valuation so essential for practical purposes would become difficult and vague.) Some writers (e.g., Professor Fisher) have excluded savings as not being income, unequivocally claiming to "identify the National Dividend with those services and those only, that enter directly into consumption." But it is best to
distinguish this and avoid confusion, as the "national income of consumable goods." Various corrections of gross money income of individuals taken in the aggregate are necessary to prevent double counting, e.g., War loan interest paid out of income tax on incomes which have not been reduced (by the amount of the tax) in aggregation. If this were not done, the greater the War loan indebtedness the greater would be the amount of the national income, without any change in the physical and usable incomes of goods and services. (See also WEALTH, NATIONAL.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.—Sir Josiah Stamp, British Incomes and Property (1916) ; Wealth and Taxable Capacity (2nd ed. 1923) ; Current Problems in Finance and Government (1924) ; Stamp and Bowley, The National Income 1924 (1927) ; A. C. Pigou, The Economics of Industry, sect. 2 (2nd ed. 1924) ; Professor A. Marshall, Principles of Economics (8th ed. 192o) ; Sir Leo Chiozza Money, Riches and Poverty (new ed. 1913) ; The Nation's Wealth (1914). (J. S.)