The Sources of Increased Efficiency: A Study of DuPont Rayon Plants, originally Hollander’s Ph.D. thesis, was a microeconomic study of technological change. In his memoirs “It’s an Ill Wind…”, he remarks that he was advised by his supervisor Fritz Machlup “to undertake one of the forty-odd studies he had listed; and not being interested in any of them, I selected the first: Investment and Innovation. It proved to be an inspired choice.” In 1965, the thesis was published with few revisions by MIT press. Reviews of the
period reveal that Hollander’s propensity for detailed research and analytical thought, which would define many of his later projects, was evident in this, his earliest work.
Included in this series is the final typescript of the final thesis, detailed proposal for research, drafts of chapters, corrections and revisions, notebooks and loose research notes and a bibliographic card index. There is also correspondence relating to the gathering of research, mainly with officials of DuPont.