A Conversation with Arnold Zellner

From the early 1960s onwards, Arnold Zellner has been publishing influential papers in the areas of statistical theory, econometric applications and macroeconomic modelling. This conversation canvasses Zellner’s transition from physics to economics, the reason for the renewal of interest in Bayes’s theorem in the 20th century, the empirical methodology of science underpinning the Chicago School and the influence of Alfred Marshall on Zellner’s recent contributions to macroeconomic modelling. The main insights to have emerged in the course of the conversation centre on the historical influences on Zellner’s thinking and his contribution to economic history.