A Problem as Much of Economic Theory as of Statistical Technique? The Walsh-Edgeworth Debate on Index Numbers, 1921–25
探讨了20世纪20年代初沃尔什与埃奇沃思关于指数数理论的激烈辩论，核心分歧在于是否存在理想指数公式以及概率在价格测量中的使用，对理解指数数方法论之争有参考价值。
Abstract Correa Moylan Walsh (1862–1936) was a monetary economist of the early twentieth century, mostly remembered for his contributions to the theory of index numbers. Francis Ysidro Edgeworth (1845–1926) was a renowned mathematical economist, remembered as one of the great masters of the discipline. Walsh was an adamant defender of a deterministic, test approach to the theory of index numbers, whereas Edgeworth favored probabilistic approaches and thought index-number theorists should not close themselves to alternative methods. Holding contrasting views about the making of index numbers, they engaged in a fierce debate in the first half of the 1920s—a period marked by several quarrels on the subject. The main points in dispute between Walsh and Edgeworth were the existence of an ideal formula for index numbers and the use of probability in the measurement of price variations. The goal of this article is to explore this debate and its underpinnings. It is argued that the main points of contention between them relate to their conflicting perspectives on the nature of index numbers.