The 165th meeting jointly organized with International Public Policy Seminar

Date   Friday, December  20, 2024 13:30 to 15:00

Place   Will be held online

Presenter   Norikazu Takami,  Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo.

Title:   "The Role of the Cowles Commission and RAND Corporation in Transforming Mathematical Economics in the Mid-twentieth Century" 

Abstract: 

This essay narrates the history of mid-twentieth-century economics, based on recent literature. This literature has shown that a small group of scholars, linked through the network of the Cowles Commission and the RAND Corporation, accomplished the mathematical transformation of economics by creating new fields, such as econometrics, game theory, and general competitive equilibrium. The essay also mentions the studies that connect the invention of the IS-LM model and the Solow economic growth model to the work of these scholars. The conclusion points to a historiographical shift visible in this literature: placing more emphasis on collectives and preferring objective evidence to textual interpretation.