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What Can Posterity Learn from Irving Fisher?

Author

Listed:
  • Katalin Botos

    (University of Szeged, Pazmany Peter Catholic University)

Abstract

This essay draws attention to some of the important aspects of, and learnings from, Irving Fisher's work. Fisher was the first economist to subject big volumes of data to analysis. He was one of the founders and first president of the Econometric Society. His name is associated with the quantity theory of money. He researched the purchasing power of money, index numbers, created the so-called Fisher index, wrote about the theory of interest rates, economic cycles, dwelled upon debt deflation and the theory of the Great Depression. He was one of the first advocates of abandoning the gold standard. He also drew attention to the psychological motives of the behaviours of economic actors, so the theories of Thalerian behavioural economics can regard him as their predecessor. His insight was used in managing the financial crisis of 2008. The steps towards reforming bank regulation can specifically be regarded as such measures, while Modern Monetary Theory stretched back as far as his thoughts on the regulation of the creation of money, i.e. the Chicago plan.

Suggested Citation

  • Katalin Botos, 2022. "What Can Posterity Learn from Irving Fisher?," Financial and Economic Review, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary), vol. 21(2), pages 175-187.
    • Handle: RePEc:mnb:finrev:v:21:y:2022:i:2:p:175-187
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    File URL: https://en-hitelintezetiszemle.mnb.hu/letoltes/fer-21-2-e1-botos.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adair Turner, 2015. "Between Debt and the Devil: Money, Credit, and Fixing Global Finance," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10546.
    2. Shiller, Robert J., 2013. "Irving Fisher, Debt Deflation, And Crises," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 35(2), pages 179-183, June.
    3. Wolfson, Martin H, 1996. "Irving Fisher's Debt-Deflation Theory: Its Relevance to Current Conditions," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 315-333, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    history of theory; crisis theory; deflation; behavioural economics; financial markets; regulation policy; modern monetary theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • C58 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Financial Econometrics
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • E12 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Keynes; Keynesian; Post-Keynesian; Modern Monetary Theory
    • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Modern Monetary Theory;

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