Ragnar Frisch

Ragnar Frisch, born on March third, nineteen ninety-five, was a pioneering Norwegian economist and econometrician who played a crucial role in transforming economics into a quantitative and statistically informed discipline during the early twentieth century.

In nineteen twenty-six, he coined the term 'econometrics' to describe the application of statistical methods to economic systems. His contributions extended further when he introduced the concepts of microeconomics and macroeconomics in nineteen thirty-three, delineating the study of individual and aggregate economic systems.

Frisch's innovative work culminated in the development of a statistically informed model of business cycles in nineteen thirty-three. This groundbreaking research, conducted alongside Jan Tinbergen, ultimately earned them the first Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in nineteen sixty-nine.

After earning his dr.philos. degree with a thesis on mathematics and statistics from the University of Oslo in nineteen twenty-six, Frisch spent five years in the United States, conducting research at the University of Minnesota and Yale University. He briefly taught at Yale before returning to Norway, where he was appointed Professor of Economics and Statistics at the University of Oslo in nineteen thirty-one.

Frisch was instrumental in founding the Econometric Society in nineteen thirty and served as the editor of its journal, Econometrica, for its first twenty-one years. His legacy continues through the Frisch Medal, awarded annually for the best paper in econometrics, and the Frisch Centre for Applied Economic Analysis at the University of Oslo, where the Grand Auditorium also bears his name.