Ragnar Frisch was one of the first Norwegian economists credited with coining the term econometrics and developing quantitative economics. In 1969, he was one of the first to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, jointly with Jan Tinbergen, for developing dynamic models for analyzing economic processes. Frisch's work was highly influential and helped progress the field of economics, especially in using statistical techniques and mathematical modeling of cycles.

Frisch was born in Oslo, and like many young men of his generation, he began his career as a goldsmith like his father before him. But his mother insisted he attend university, so he took an economics course, which he considered the easiest. Frisch's academic experience was also mobile, and he was able to take his education to several countries to enhance his knowledge of mathematics and economics. His work in econometrics made him a prominent figure in the field, and in 1933, he presented the first mathematical model for cyclical movement in the economy. This model formed the basis of what is referred to as the business cycle theory today.

Frisch had a long academic career at the University of Oslo, where he was able to contribute to the establishment of the Institute of Economics. He also co-founded the Econometric Society in 1930 and was the editor of Econometrica for over twenty years. Frisch's career is characterized by the constant striving for mathematical formalism in economics and the application of theory with empirical data. His work is still relevant to the current economic theory, where concepts like the Frisch elasticity and the impulse-propagation model are used.