Purpose
The Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics at Yale University has as its purpose
the conduct and encouragement of research in economics and related fields. The Cowles
Foundation seeks to foster the development and application of rigorous logical,
mathematical, and statistical methods of analysis. Among its activities, the Cowles
Foundation provides financial support for research, visiting faculty, postdoctoral
fellowships, workshops, and graduate students. Cowles regularly sponsors conferences and
publishes a working paper series, a reprint series, and monographs.
Research Programs
The Cowles Foundation provides support for research and research related activities
through Research Programs in four core areas of interest to Cowles: Econometrics, Economic Theory, Macroeconomics, and Structural
Microeconomics. Each of these broad areas has deep ties to the Cowles tradition and
provides a foundation for other fields of inquiry in economics and related fields. Cowles
Program Areas sponsor visiting faculty and post-docs, organize conferences, and provide
other research resources at Yale.
From time to time, Cowles also sponsors shorter-term research initiatives in areas of
emerging interest. Currently, Cowles is supporting a special initiative in Optimization.
Research Staff
Members of the Cowles Research Staff are, as a rule, faculty
members with appointments and teaching responsibilities in the Department of Economics and other departments at
Yale.
Brief History
The Cowles Foundation continues the work of the Cowles Commission for Research in
Economics, founded in 1932 by Alfred Cowles at Colorado Springs. The Commission moved to
Chicago in 1939 and was affiliated with the University of Chicago until 1955. In 1955
the professional research staff of the Commission accepted appointments at Yale and, along
with other members of the Yale Department of Economics, formed the research staff of the
newly established Cowles Foundation.
Theory and Measurement
The motto "Theory and Measurement," first adopted in 1952,
succinctly captures the mission of the Cowles Foundation: development and application of
rigorous logical, mathematical, and statistical methods of analysis in economics and
related fields. This motto replaced the original Cowles Commission motto "Science is
Measurement," reflecting the importance of theory that became clear early in the
history of Cowles. Over the years Cowles scholars have made important contributions to
economic theory, to econometric theory, and to a broad range of fields of economics
through work that combines economic models with statistical methods of measurement. The
mission of "theory and measurement" is reflected in the broad range of Cowles
activities today, including those of its four core research programs in Econometrics,
Economic Theory, Macroeconomics, and Structural Microeconomics.
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