At the occasion of the 40th birthday of the Bulletin, which was to become the present Recherches Economiques de Louvain, I would like first of all to express, on behalf of the Economics Faculty in Antwerp, a respectful salute to Professor Dupriez, the founder, spiritual father and stimulator of this journal. Many of my senior colleagues at the Faculty have been his student and it has always been very clear to all of us in Antwerp, that the point of his teaching and research has not been missed.

I may add that for our team at the Research Center in Antwerp the example that Prof. Dupriez has set in the Bulletin, the thoroughly scholarly approach to real world problems is a sure and guiding light as to the spirit in which we ourselves should tackle the problems of today.