Fisher's The Nature of Capital and Income*

Abstract . In this essay James Tobin reminds us of the importance of Irving Fisher's great book and how that book was favorably received by economists. Fisher presented fundamental definitions and supplied a path breaking exposition of the mathematics of interest rates and their relationship to the valuation of assets. This essay was originally published as the “Editorial Introduction to Volume 2 of The Works of Irving Fisher, 14 vols London: Pickering & Chatto, 1997; 2:1–6.