Elizabeth Ellis Hoyt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1893-01-27)January 27, 1893 Augusta, Maine, US |
| Died | November 22, 1980(1980-11-22) (aged 87) |
| Resting place | Ocean Hill Cemetery at Long Cove in Bristol, Maine |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Economist |
Elizabeth Ellis Hoyt (January 27, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American economist who focused onconsumption economics and developing countries.[1] Her work on analyzing and compilingcost-of-living metrics led to the creation of theConsumer Price Index in the United States.[2] She was a professor of economics atIowa State University, where she served on the faculty for 55 years.[2]
Hoyt was born on born January 27, 1893, inAugusta, Maine.[3] She was the youngest of three children; their mother died when she was 10.[4] She attended theLatin School for Girls in Boston, the first college preparatory school for girls in the country.[5]
In 1910, Hoyt enteredBoston College to study Latin.[6][5] There, she earned her AB degree in 1913.[6] After being turned down for a job with immigration services, she worked as astenographer for theYMCA.[5] From 1915 to 1916, she studiedclassics atWellesley College.[5]
After working for theNational Industrial Conference Board, Hoyt earned her MA fromRadcliffe College in 1924, followed by her PhD fromHarvard University in 1925.[3][5] Her PhD thesis was published as her first book,Primitive Trade: Its Psychology and Economics (1926).[5]
Hoyt worked as a researcher at theNational Industrial Conference Board from 1917 to 1921.[1] During this time, she compiled cost-of-living metrics into what is considered the forerunner of theConsumer Price Index.[7]
From 1921 to 1923, Hoyt was an instructor atWellesley College.[1] After receiving her graduate degrees, she joinedIowa State College as an associate professor, becoming the only female faculty member.[7] She became a full professor in 1927 and taught at Iowa State through her retirement in 1963.[6]
AlongsideHazel Kyrk andMargaret Reid, Hoyt was considered an early pioneer in the study of theeconomics of consumption.[8] Hoyt's work focused on the use and management of resources in the future, and she studied how consumption's role is "useful for understanding the nature of economic systems, especially in other cultures".[7] The work of Hoyt, Kyrk, andPaul Nystrom is credited with helping to found the concept ofmarginal utility.[9]
Hoyt died November 22, 1980, inGleneden Beach, Oregon.[2] She is buried at Ocean Hill Cemetery in Bristol, Maine.[3] Despite being considered a pioneer of consumption economics, she is recognized as being "neglected in published accounts" with her work being largely undocumented.[5]
