Perspectives in the History of Econometrics: A Review Essay of R. J. Epstein: A History of Econometrics

Only in the last few years has the history of econometrics become established as an accepted field of research, with its own doctoral students and sessions at professional meetings. Yet, the first written histories of econometrics appeared as far back as the 1950s, when Carl Christ [4] reviewed the first 20 years' econometric work of the Cowles Commission and George Stigler [37] surveyed the early econometric analyses of consumer demand. Contributions in the intervening years have been sparse, with historical accounts such as Stigler [38], Humphrey [23], and Cargill [3] providing helpful landmarks, and additional insights coming from papers such as Gold-berger [16] and Griliches [17]. Now we have a new monograph on the history of the Cowles Commission by Hildreth [22], a number of journal articles, and Roy Epstein's 1987 book, A History of Econometrics, as further contributions to this small but rapidly expanding field.