Re: Friedman on Markowitz

From: Mario Melchiori
Affiliation: http://www.geocities.com/mrmelchi
Address: mrmelchi@grupobica.com.ar
Date: 10 Dec 2006
Time: 20:43:09

Comments

Below Harry M. Markowitz´s point of view about this issue extracted from his Nobel prize lecture, which is available from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1990/markowitz-lecture.pdf . "...Finally, I would like to add a comment concerning portfolio theory as a part of the microeconomics of action under uncertainty. It has not always been considered so. For example, when I defended my dissertation as a student in the Economics Department of the University of Chicago, Professor Milton Friedman argued that portfolio theory was not Economics, and that they could not award me a Ph.D. degree in Economics for a dissertation which was not in Economics. I assume that he was only half serious, since they did award me the degree without long debate. As to the merits of his arguments, at this point I am quite willing to concede: at the time I defended my dissertation, portfolio theory was not part of Economics. But now it is...." .

Disclaimer