Beyond Numbers: Keynes, Friedman, and the Mathematization of Economics

December 14, 2023

This was my term paper for one of my favorite classes at Stanford: "Thinking About Capitalism" (HISTORY 269), where we read all the great classics of 20th century economic thought with Professor Jennifer Burns. She specializes in twentieth century intellectual, political and cultural history and authored the first full biography of Milton Friedman.

In the paper, I explore how Keynes and Friedman, often thought of as antagonists, for different reasons, reached a rare point of agreement: they shared a skepticism to the mechanistic use of mathematics in economics that started around their time.

This paper received the 2024 Hoover Institution Distinguished Undergraduate Essay Award.

Full PDF here.