Irving Fisher

Description

Acclaimed by Joseph Schumpeter as ‘The greatest economist the United States has ever produced’, this book examines the life and work of American economist and statistician Irving Fisher (1867–1947). Fisher’s reputation suffered for decades after his incorrect predictions for the stock market in October 1929 and the impact of Keynesian macroeconomics, but the importance of his work came to be recognized through the advocacy of many prestigious scholars including Milton Friedman, Hyman Minsky and James Tobin. With pivotal contributions including his Debt-Deflation Theory, Fisher Diagram and Ideal Index Number, his research in neoclassical economics influenced policymaking in his own day as well as during the recent financial crisis. This volume will be of interest to all those interested in the twentieth century transformation of economics. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv Economic Scientist, Economic and Social Reformer (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 1-15 Indifference Curves and a Hydraulic Model of General Equilibrium (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 17-44 Revitalizing the Quantity Theory of Money: From the Fisher Relation to the Fisher Equation (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 45-73 The Fisher Diagram and the Neoclassical Theory of Interest and Capital (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 75-112 Taming the “Dance of the Dollar”: From the Compensated Dollar to 100% Money (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 113-134 Fighting Money Illusion: The Fisher Ideal Index Number (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 135-156 Hubris, Nemesis, and Analysis: “Stock Prices Appear to Have Reached a Permanently High Plateau” (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 157-173 The Debt-Deflation Theory of Great Depressions (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 175-200 Changing Economics: Irving Fisher, the Cowles Commission, and the Econometric Society (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 201-221 Fisher’s Legacy in Economics (Robert W. Dimand)....Pages 223-234 Back Matter ....Pages 235-239