Harold Hotelling (1895-1973), an American economist, is considered a pioneer in the field of mathematical statistics and economics. In 1931, he published
The Economics of Exhaustible Resources in which he argued that the net price of a
nonrenewable resource such as oil or copper would rise over time at the rate of interest. Depletion of the resource, absent technical change, would generate a scarcity rent that grew over time. The Hotelling model was among the first to use the calculus of variations, and it would form the foundation for the theory of exhaustible resources in neoclassical economics. Hotelling was also very active in promoting the use of statistics education in a wide range of disciplines. Further Reading
Statisticians in History: Harold Hotelling (American Statistical Association)
Citation
Cleveland, Cutler (Lead Author); Peter Saundry (Topic Editor). 2009. "Hotelling, Harold." In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [Published in the Encyclopedia of Earth January 17, 2009; Retrieved November 21, 2009]. <
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Hotelling,_Harold>
