The Econometricians: Gauss, Galton, Pearson, Fisher, Hotelling, Cowles, Frisch and Haavelmo

Description

This is the seventh book in a series of discussions about the great minds in the history and theory of finance. While the series addresses the contributions of scholars in our understanding of financial decisions and markets, this seventh book describes how econometrics developed and how its underlying assumptions created the underpinning of much of modern financial theory. The author shows that the theorists of econometrics were a mix of mathematicians and cosmologists, entrepreneurs, economists and financial scholars. The author demonstrates that by laying down the foundation of empirical analysis, they also forever determined the way in which we think about financial returns and the vocabulary we employ to describe them. Through this volume, the reader can discover the life stories, inspirations, and theories of Carl Friedrich Gauss, Francis Galton, Karl Pearson, Ronald Aylmer Fisher, Harold Hotelling, Alfred Cowles III, Ragnar Frisch, and Trygve Haavelmo, specifically. We learn how each theorist made an intellectual leap simply by thinking about a conventional problem in an unconventional way. Front Matter....Pages i-xxi Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Early Life of Carl Friedrich Gauss....Pages 3-10 The Times of Carl Friedrich Gauss....Pages 11-31 Carl Gauss’ Great Idea....Pages 33-56 The Later Years and Legacy of Carl Friedrich Gauss....Pages 57-64 Front Matter....Pages 65-66 The Early Life of Francis Galton....Pages 67-73 The Times of Francis Galton....Pages 75-80 The Later Life and Legacy of Sir Francis Galton....Pages 81-82 The Early Life of Karl Pearson....Pages 83-87 Karl Pearson’s Great Idea....Pages 89-97 The Later Life and Legacy of Karl Pearson....Pages 99-107 Front Matter....Pages 109-109 The Early Life of Ronald Aylmer Fisher....Pages 111-120 The Times of Ronald Aylmer Fisher....Pages 121-128 Ronald Fisher’s Great Idea....Pages 129-137 Later Life and Legacy of Ronald Fisher....Pages 139-148 The Early Life of Harold Hotelling....Pages 149-158 The Times of Harold Hotelling....Pages 159-163 Harold Hotelling’s Great Idea....Pages 165-169 The Later Life and Legacy of Harold Hotelling....Pages 171-173 Front Matter....Pages 175-175 The Early Life of Alfred Cowles III....Pages 177-186 The Times of Alfred Cowles III....Pages 187-189 Front Matter....Pages 175-175 The Great Idea of Alfred Cowles III....Pages 191-198 Legacy and Later Life of Alfred Cowles III....Pages 199-200 The Early Life of Ragnar Frisch....Pages 201-204 The Times of Ragnar Frisch....Pages 205-210 Ragnar Frisch’s Great Idea....Pages 211-217 Legacy and Later Life of Ragnar Frisch....Pages 219-222 The Early Years of Trygve Haavelmo....Pages 223-226 The Times of Trygve Haavelmo....Pages 227-230 Haavelmo’s Great Idea....Pages 231-239 Legacy and Later Life of Trygve Haavelmo....Pages 241-243 Front Matter....Pages 245-245 Conclusions....Pages 247-249 Back Matter....Pages 251-261