About

The Econometric Society is an international society for the advancement of economic theory in its relation to statistics and mathematics. The main activities of the Society are:

  • Publication of the journals Econometrica, Quantitative Economics, and Theoretical Economics.
  • Publication of a research Monograph Series.
  • Organization of scientific meetings in six regions of the world. 

History

Ragnar Frisch is at the origin of the Econometric Society. Along with Charles Roos and Irving Fisher, he convened an organization meeting in December 1930 in Cleveland, where the American Economic Association, the American Statistical Association and the American Mathematical Society were holding their annual meeting.   Joseph Schumpeter chaired the 16-strong meeting, which founded the Econometric Society and elected Irving Fisher as its first President. The first annual meeting of the Econometric Society took place in Lausanne in September 1931. After Alfred Cowles offered funding for a journal, the Society launched Econometrica in 1933, with Ragnar Frisch as its Editor. The first issue of Econometrica published the papers presented in the first meeting; and the fourth issue listed the first 29 Fellows of the Econometric Society.  

The Econometric Society publishes two open-access journals in addition to Econometrica, Quantitative Economics and Theoretical Economics. Theoretical Economics was an established journal in its field ahead of the Society adopting it. The Society approached TE’s Executive Board about bringing the journal on as a title of the Society. An agreement was finalized on December 25, 2008, and the first issue of TE published under the auspices of the Econometric Society appeared in January 2010. Quantitative Economics was a new journal developed by the Society, which published its first issue in July 2010.

More information and documents on the history of the Econometric Society can be found in the documents below.