ABSTRACT
In 1922, while preparing his own dissertation, Frisch received a copy of Irving Fisher’s 1892 thesis. Fisher, who some years later was to play an important role in the ‘years of high theory’ of the econometric decade, discussed in detail the history of mathematical economics and in particular the contribution of Cournot. The book fascinated Frisch. Cournot and the neoclassical economists who followed him, most of all Walras, believed they could and should integrate economics into the newborn world of pure science, adopting a rigorous language and logic (mathematics) and following a pattern of scientific research that mimicked physics. Fisher certainly shared this goal – and so did Frisch. Some argue that this project, centred on the empirical estimation of marginal utility, was the prime motivation for the young economist and mathematician: ‘Ragnar Frisch was drawn into econometrics not so much out of interest in policy or economics reform but a curiosity to test empirically the fundamental postulates of neoclassical utility theory’ (Epstein, 1987: 36) – and that was certainly one of his first challenges.
