The origin and rise of the econometric society and its 1936 meetings

This paper analyzes the origin and rise of the Econometric Society and its 1936 meetings. It examines the foundation of the Econometric Society in 1930 and its first meeting in Lausanne in 1931. The paper investigates the two meetings of the Econometric Society in the United States in 1936, highlighting the papers and the topics discussed. Furthermore, the paper provides a narrative of the 1936 Oxford Meeting of the European Econometric Society, focusing on the "symposium on Keynes' system" where Harrod, Meade, and Hicks presented their papers. It also examines the other sessions of the Oxford meetings, with the participation of other important scholars such as Frisch, Tinbergen, and Haavelmo, who gained the Nobel Prize in successive years. The paper highlights the research programs produced during those meetings and shows the relevant social and economic issues discussed, as well as the influence that these meetings had on economics in that period and in the years ahead. Additionally, the paper underscores the emphasis placed on the quantitative approach to economic analysis taken by the members of the Econometric Society.