Only three of the risks that can be covered by social insurance are considered in this volume—those of invalidity, old age and death. The treatment consists of a general introductory discussion followed by monographs on Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain and Italy.
While compulsory sickness insurance is not directly discussed, much of the actuarial and descriptive matter, both of which are very exhaustive, cannot help but be of value to any one concerned with the organization of almost any type of social insurance. The difficulties which hamper actuarial calculations in these fields are pointed out. Because "there have been incessant modifications" in all such systems, and such modifications have been made by legislation or regulation without much regard for actuarial conditions, it is very difficult to lay down rules by which accurate calculations can be made. In the first place there is nearly always a complete lack of statistics "concerning