Economic Conservation Laws as Indices of Corporate Performance

6. Concluding Remarks

This paper has attempted to analyze and apply the theory of economic conservation laws as a criterion for measuring corporate performance on a microeconomic level. Although it is not particularly our intention to make a close computational analysis of empirical results, we think that conservation laws ought to be used along with and as a supplement to various other indicators of corporate performance that have often traditionally been used in the areas of finance, accounting and management. The traditional standards of measurement found in management, accounting and finance theory remain as effective as ever, of course, but the new tool presented in this paper, we believe, can also play an effective role in measuring the workings of what theoretical economics regards as the ultimate goal of corporate performance, the maximization of profits.

The paper was presented at the 2003 Japan-US Technical Symposium on 4 April 2003, New York University. The author wishes to acknowledge helpful comments by Mariko Fujii, Gilbert Suzawa and Thomas Mitchell.