Ragnar Frisch, the Oslo born economist is known for his vital contribution in economics in the form of Econometrics and Production Theory. He arose from very humble beginnings and earned name and fame, which he is aptly suited to. He climbed the stairs of success gradually and the theories, which he propounded, have become vital to the study of economics.
Personal Life and Educational Background
Ragnar Anton Kittil Frisch referred to, as Ragnar Frisch is a Norwegian economist born on 3rd March 1895. He was born to Anton Frisch and Ragna Kittilsen who was a goldsmith by profession. Frisch worked as an apprentice as well as studied in the University of Oslo. He received his graduation degree in 1919. Although he had to manage his studies along with his work yet with his dedication towards studies bore a fruit when he received the fellowship from the university, which enabled him to pursue economics and mathematics in France and England respectively. In 1926 he obtained his PhD in mathematical statistics. Frisch published a few papers after this and again received a fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation to visit the USA in 1927.
Works and Professional Career
He wrote his first research paper on the Theory of Probability in 1925 while he was in the University of Oslo. In 1926 Frisch wrote some more papers that were later published. In one of the article he emphasized on the method economics should be studied. He observed that Economics must follow the path of empirical quantization as done in Physics. He published his seminal article in the same year, which consisted of his own version of the theory of quantization program known as “Sur un probleme d’economie pure”.
In 1927 he wrote another study paper on assessing the role of investment in explaining economic wavering. In 1928 he was appointed professor of Oslo University in the Department of Economics and in 1929 he published his first significant essay on econometric methodology known as “Correlation and Scatter in Statistical Variables”. Post this event he became a full-fledged professor in the university and started disseminating knowledge from 1931. The establishment of the Rockefeller Institute in 1932 is another feather on his cap.
Contribution towards Economics
Frisch has contributed a lot towards the welfare of the economy and showed new light in which economics could be studied. His major contributions are:
He established economy as a modern science
Propounded the concepts of Econometrics and Macroeconomics
Neo-Walrasian research is based on his paper of 1926
He along with Frederick Waugh propounded the Frisch-Waugh theorem
New Classical Business Cycle theory was based on his article of 1933.
He has been the editor of Econometrica for over five years and has also founded the econometric society.
There is an eponymous award after Frisch, which is being given to people who have made valuable contributions to the field of econometrics.
Books by Frisch
He has written quite a few books. The names of some of them are:
Theory of Production
Economic Sciences
Journal of the royal Statistical Society
Pitfalls in the Statistical Construction of Demand and Supply Curves
Ragnar Frisch had won the Nobel Prize in 1969 for having propounded and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic Process.
Ragnar Frisch died on 31 January 1973. His death has left a vacuum in the world of economics. But he will be always remembered by the world for his contribution in the sphere of economics.