A timeless classic of economic theory that remains fascinating and pertinent today, this is Frank Knight's famous explanation of why perfect competition cannot eliminate profits, the important differences between "risk" and "uncertainty," and the vital role of the entrepreneur in profitmaking. Based on Knight's PhD dissertation, this 1921 work, balancing theory with fact to come to stunning insights, is a distinct pleasure to read. FRANK H. KNIGHT (1885-1972) is considered by some the greatest American scholar of economics of the 20th century. An economics professor at the University of Chicago from 1927 until 1955, he was one of the founders of the Chicago school of economics, which influenced Milton Friedman and George Stigler.

The important part of managing uncertainty is identifying as many sources and factors of uncertainty as possible. The main purposes of this paper are to enhance the understanding of uncertainty - its sources, factors and effects on the system by documenting the current state of affairs. This paper is based on a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the existing literatures on manufacturing under uncertain conditions. The authors have identified the various sources and factors of uncertainty in manufacturing/production environment and adjusted the focus on the techniques and models used to tackle the storms. It is observed that that the combined effects/impacts of the uncertainty factors on the system parameters yet to be nattily studied.

Firms and farmers, under pure competition, must make production decisions in the face of price uncertainty. The author has integrated diverse theories of behavior under uncertainty to provide a new framework for his mathematical analysis of the impact of price uncertainty on the behavior of the firm. Drawing upon the work of Knight, Hicks, von Neumann, and Morgenstern, he develops a schema that accounts for a greater diversity of behavior than do existing theories, yet one which yields simple economic theorems of practical value. The conclusions he draws apply to both socialist and capitalist economics. Originally published in 1968. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Conventional models of production under uncertainty specify that output is produced in fixed proportions across states of nature. I investigate a representation of technology that allows firms to transform output from one state to another. I allow the firm to choose the distribution of its random productivity from a convex set of such distributions, described by a limit on a moment of productivity scaled by a natural productivity shock. The model produces a simple discount factor linked to productivity, which can be used to price any asset, without regard to preferences.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is one of several federal agencies responsible for protecting Americans against significant risks to human health and the environment. As part of that mission, EPA estimates the nature, magnitude, and likelihood of risks to human health and the environment; identifies the potential regulatory actions that will mitigate those risks and protect public health1 and the environment; and uses that information to decide on appropriate regulatory action. Uncertainties, both qualitative and quantitative, in the data and analyses on which these decisions are based enter into the process at each step. As a result, the informed identification and use of the uncertainties inherent in the process is an essential feature of environmental decision making. EPA requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convene a committee to provide guidance to its decision makers and their partners in states and localities on approaches to managing risk in different contexts when uncertainty is present. It also sought guidance on how information on uncertainty should be presented to help risk managers make sound decisions and to increase transparency in its communications with the public about those decisions. Given that its charge is not limited to human health risk assessment and includes broad questions about managing risks and decision making, in this report the committee examines the analysis of uncertainty in those other areas in addition to human health risks. Environmental Decisions in the Face of Uncertainty explains the statement of task and summarizes the findings of the committee.