The London and Cambridge Economic Service: history and contributions

摘要

The aim of this paper is to throw light on the neglected London and Cambridge Economic Service, a collaboration starting in the early 1920s between the London School of Economics and Cambridge University. We find various results. First, the Service was pioneering in its collection and interpretation of British economic data. It was aided in this by the involvement of a host of noted economists from London and Cambridge. That this collaboration took place at all goes against the traditional view that these two institutions were always at loggerheads during the 1920s and 1930s. Second, the Service carried out important theoretical work in many areas, the focus here being on the construction of indices of industrial production. Finally, an examination of the Service's forecasting record in the period leading up to the US stock market crash in October 1929 finds that it did not match up to the promises made at its launch.