Federal control of construction following World War II

The idea of making a critical study of the Veterans' Emergency Housing Program stemmed from the writer's experience on the staff of the Office of Economic Review and Analysts, Civilian Production Administration. It was readily apparent that the government's programming techniques and production-distribution controls were inadequate to the emergency undertaking. Further, it was clear that little theoretical thinking had been done as a guide to the voluminous calculations performed as an aid to administrative decisions. It is hoped that the present study will serve as an appraisal of the housing program in a broad sense and also of the relative efficacy of the individual controls employed. A further hope is that it will fill a part of the theoretical void--which is apparent in other government programming efforts as well--particularly in the calculation of requirements.