This book is the outcome of the extensive archival research on which Morgan (1990) is based. Despite being a relatively young discipline (the Econometric Society was founded in 1931), econometrics already has a substantial intellectual history concerned with making sense of empirical economic evidence. Reading the early studies in quantitative economics and econometrics highlighted the wealth of material that was no longer well remembered, and revealed the insights it could cast on current debates as well as the historical perspective it automatically provided. We discovered important correctives to some conventionalist views extant about earlier, and still famous, debates and we comment on these below. The value of reading the struggles of pioneers to see how perceptions of problems emerged and how solutions began, specifically then gradually were generalized, was brought home to us. And, of course, the pure fun of reading the views of the giants who founded a new discipline enlivened our study and motivated us to bring it to a successful conclusion. We also greatly enjoyed discussing the history of econometrics with many of those who helped create it.

Overall, the book aims to be a contribution to the history of econometrics. The papers reproduced below represent the tip of the pyramid of published material, but are sufficient to establish many key aspects of the historical record. As such, the book can also serve as a resource for courses on the history of econometrics, especially its conceptual foundations.