monetary denominations of the post-WWII period seems well warranted. In all other cases where there is reason not to follow the standard rule, explanatory notes, together with an appropriate conversion table, should accompany the statistics.
A newly emerged nation on the eve of industrialisation invariably realises the need to standardise units of measurement. The speed and ease, and virtual acceptance by the public, of standard measuring units reflects the effectiveness of political leadership of the ruling government in a newly emerged nation state. It also is a de facto sign of the integrity of the national economy.
Historical Meaning of Industry-cum-commodity Classifications
One is to be reminded of the fundamental problem of classifications of any kind in dealing with historical time series, i.e. they are subject to unceasing changes over time. In fact, these changes are at the heart of the developmental issues and cannot (and should not) be neglected. For obvious reasons, old categories may disappear while entirely new ones are introduced as time goes on. The transformations pose a serious headache for economic historians, since, while it is not sensible to stick to a classification scheme designed for a certain point in time, one still needs a standard format to make meaningful comparisons. But it is precisely here that researchers come to direct contact with the motive forces of economic development.
A practical solution to this difficult (and insoluble) problem is to prepare a modified version of the standard scheme together with a converter between the two, being accompanied by full explanatory notes as to the underlying transformations of the economy.
In any event, the change presents a challenge for practical statisticians who wish to construct meaningful, comparative time-series statistics. From the historian's viewpoint, however, the need for such changes is a faithful indicator of the force of transformation at work, and therefore the existence of such an indicator should be valued highly and exploited as much as possible.
To give a simple illustration, one often encounters in the historical source materials of a developing society a category called "miscellaneous," which
