IRVING FISHER'S PROGENY AND THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS
In: Journal of the history of economic thought, Band 35, Heft 2, S. 185-197
ISSN: 1469-9656
Irving Fisher believed in evidence-based decision making. This paper considers how three aspects of Fisher's methodology could be useful now in the quest to deal with U.S. financial instability: (1) his institutional approach; (2) his efforts to use index number theory as a means to improve official statistics data; and (3) his interest in automating aspects of data analyses. The paper concludes with a call to action for Fisher's progeny. Actions to solve US financial instability are surely the most fitting possible tribute to Irving Fisher.