The core group of economists consists of Ebbe Hertzberg (1847–1912), Bredo Morgenstierne (1851–1930) and the younger generation, Oskar Jaeger (1863–1933) and Peder Thorvald Aarum (1867–1926). In addition, Anders Nicolai Kiær (1838–1919) and Nicolai Rygg (1872–1957) respectively a statistician and a jurist, were both appointed chairman of Statistisk centralbureau (later Statistisk sentralbyrå or SSB). The latter was, for a short period of time, the successor to Aschehoug as a professor of economics before he became the general manager of Statistisk centralbureau in 1913.

Ebbe Hertzberg, at only 30 years old, was appointed the first professor of economics and statistics in Norway in 1877 after winning a competition. He was a lawyer, an economist and a historian. He was, as commented on in Chapter 3, a strong adherent of Schweigaard, giving him his full approval in his book published in 1883 about Schweigaard and his public affairs. Due to personal reasons, Hertzberg was forced to resign from his post as professor of economics after just a few years in 1886, and he did not take part in the economic debate until the mid-1890s. Aarum later states that Hertzberg had studied with Karl Knies (1821–1898) in Heidelberg and that he was influenced by the historical school. Like Aschehoug, he lectured and published in Statsøkonomisk Tidsskrift.’

Hertzberg chose ‘Statssocialismens theori’ (The theory of state socialism) as his topic for the first lecture at the Statsøkonomisk forening in 1884.