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Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz—Statistician, Economist and a European Intellectual

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  • Wolfgang Karl Härdle
  • Annette B. Vogt

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="insr12083-abs-0001"> Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz (1868–1931) was a European statistician. His scientific work covered theoretical economics, stochastics, mathematical statistics and radiology; today, we would call him a cross-disciplinary scientist. With his clear views on mathematical principles with their applications in these fields, he stood in conflict with the mainstream economic schools in Germany at the dawn of the 20th century. He had many prominent students (Gumbel, Leontief and Freudenberg among them), and he carved out the path of modern statistical thinking. He was a true European intellectual with a career path from St. Petersburg via Göttingen to Straßburg and finally the Berliner Universität, now Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He is known for the precise calibration of insurance claims applying the—at that time hardly known—Poisson distribution to Prussian horse kick and child suicide data. He proposed a simple solution to the Marxian transformation problem and wrote numerous articles and books on the mathematical treatment of statistical (including radiological physical) data. In this article, we sketch his life and work and point out the prominent role that he has in today's statistical thinking.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolfgang Karl Härdle & Annette B. Vogt, 2015. "Ladislaus von Bortkiewicz—Statistician, Economist and a European Intellectual," International Statistical Review, International Statistical Institute, vol. 83(1), pages 17-35, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:istatr:v:83:y:2015:i:1:p:17-35
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    1. Quaas, Friedrun, 1991. "Wolfgang Mühlpfordt - ein Vorgänger von Bortkiewicz? Zu den theoretischen Quellen des sogenannten Transformationsproblems [Wolfgang Mühlpfordt as an predecessor of Bortkiewicz. Concerning the theor," MPRA Paper 20348, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ulrich Rendtel & Ulrike C. Wasmuht & Peter-Theodor Wilrich, 2021. "Emil Julius Gumbel," AStA Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv, Springer;Deutsche Statistische Gesellschaft - German Statistical Society, vol. 15(3), pages 273-291, December.

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