Irving Fisher and Index Number Theory

Walter Diewert

Economics working papers from Vancouver School of Economics

Abstract: There are four main approaches to bilateral index number theory: the fixed basket, stochastic, test and economic approaches. The paper reviews the contributions of Irving Fisher to these approaches to index number theory which are still in use today. The paper also reviews Fisher’s contributions to multilateral index number theory. The main themes of the paper are developed in the context of a review of the early history of index number theory: a history that conveys a wealth of information and insight into the making and use of index numbers today.

Keywords: Price indexes; quantity indexes; bilateral price indexes; multilateral price indexes; the Fisher ideal index; the test approach to index number theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B16 B31 C43 C81 E01 E31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2012-03-01, Revised 2012-03-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-hpe
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Related works:
Journal Article: IRVING FISHER AND INDEX NUMBER THEORY (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ubc:bricol:erwin_diewert-2012-9

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