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THE ORIGINS OF YIELD CURVE THEORY: IRVING FISHER AND JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2023

Lucy Brillant Open the ORCID record for Lucy Brillant [Opens in a new window]
Lucy Brillant*
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Lucy Brillant: University of Bourgogne, LEDi Research Center.
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Email: lucy.brillant@u-bourgogne.fr
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Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to rescue Irving Fisher’s theorizing of the yield curve (1896, 1907, 1930) from relative obscurity and to contrast it with the better known and equally pioneering theory of John Maynard Keynes (1930, 1936). The paper also adduces evidence that Fed economists and the U.S. monetary experience in the 1920s greatly influenced these authors, both of whom were concerned with the management of the long-term interest rate.

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Article
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Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , June 2024 , pp. 244 - 260
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of History of Economics Society

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Footnotes

Previous versions of this paper were presented at a workshop organized by the University of Besançon (France) in October 2018, the ESHET Conference at Science Po Lille (France) in May 2019, and at the Days of Innovation organized by the University of Bourgogne in December 2019. I am grateful to Xavier Bradley, Samuel Demeulemeester, Robert Dimand, Rebeca Gomez Betancourt, and Adrien Vila for insightful conversations about Fisher.

References

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