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Ragnar Frisch

Norwegian economist (1895-1973) · Norway · Academics · Died at 77

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He gave economics its mathematical backbone - and its vocabulary. Frisch coined "econometrics" to marry statistics with theory, then coined "microeconomics" and "macroeconomics" to split the field in two, then built the first statistical model of business cycles. The 1969 Nobel was for making guesswork measurable.

AcademicsAcademicEconomicsNorwayEurope20th Century

A life in dates

1973Died31 January 19731969Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelAward1959Honorary Doctor of Stockholm University of EconomicsAward1947“At present the national budget plays a very large role in the whole financial policy of our country.”In their wordsFrisch, (1947); Quoted in: Steinar Strøm (1998) Econometrics and Economic Theory in the 20th Century. p. 542

Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical StatisticsAward1933“Econometrics is by no means the same as economic statistics.”In their wordsRagnar Frisch in the first issue of Econometrica in 1933; Quoted in: United States. Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Library (1941)

“The majority of the economic oscillations which we encounter seem to be explained most plausibly as free oscillations.”In their wordsp. 1

“Certain exterior impulses hit the economic mechanism and thereby initiate more or less regular oscillations.”In their wordsp. 173

Fellow of the Econometric SocietyAward1926“Intermediate between mathematics, statistics, and economics, we find a new discipline which, for lack of a better name, may be called econometrics.”In their wordsRagnar Frisch (1926) "On a Problem in Pure Eco­nomics: Translated by JS Chipman." Preferences, Utility, and Demand: A Minnesota Symposium.

1920“Two important features in the modern development of economics are the application of mathematics to abstract economic reasoning...”In their words1920

1895Born3 March 1895

Also in Deutsch

Photos 2

Uio frisch 2006 0025Uio frisch 2006 0025Ragnar Frisch close-up (cropped)Ragnar Frisch close-up (cropped)

In their own words 10

,
Ragnar Frisch
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10 statements, newest first

  1. At present the national budget plays a very large role in the whole financial policy of our country.

    1947, Frisch, (1947); Quoted in: Steinar Strøm (1998) Econometrics and Economic Theory in the 20th Century. p. 542, Own words

  2. Econometrics is by no means the same as economic statistics.

    1933, Ragnar Frisch in the first issue of Econometrica in 1933; Quoted in: United States. Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Library (1941), Own words

  3. The majority of the economic oscillations which we encounter seem to be explained most plausibly as free oscillations.

    1933, p. 1, Own words

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Awards

Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel1969
Honorary Doctor of Stockholm University of Economics1959
Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics1947
Fellow of the Econometric Society1933

In their orbit 2

About this person

Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch earned his doctorate in mathematics and statistics at the University of Oslo in 1926, the same year he coined the term that would define his life's work: econometrics. He spent five years in the United States at Minnesota and Yale, turned down a full professorship at Yale in 1931 under pressure from colleagues, and returned to Oslo to become Norway's first Professor of Economics and Statistics. In 1932 he founded the Institute of Economics at Oslo, where he stayed until retirement in 1965. He co-founded the Econometric Society in 1930 and edited its journal, Econometrica, for 21 years. His 1933 work introduced the terms microeconomics and macroeconomics and produced the first statistically informed business cycle model - research that, expanded with Jan Tinbergen, won the first-ever Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1969.

Country
Norway
Category
Academics
Type
Academic
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1895 to 1973 · aged 77

In common with Ragnar

Ben BernankeBoth received Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelRobert AumannBoth received Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelGunnar MyrdalBoth received Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelKenneth ArrowBoth received Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelJean TiroleBoth received Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelEsther DufloBoth received Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel

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