The earliest example of "deadweight loss" in JSTOR is not as early as 
Hotelling.  It is 

Paul A. Samuelson, "The Transfer Problem and Transport Costs: The Terms 
of Trade When Impediments are Absent," /The Economic Journal/, Vol. 62, 
No. 246 (Jun., 1952), pp. 278-304.

"Dead loss" shows up as earlier as 1887, but not in the sense of 
deadweight loss.  The following might be the earliest relevant JSTOR 
example, but I have not read it carefully: 

C. F. Bickerdike, "The Theory of Incipient Taxes," /The Economic 
Journal/, Vol. 16, No. 64 (Dec., 1906), pp. 529-535

Kevin Hoover



Rojhat Berdan Avsar wrote:
> ----------------- HES POSTING -----------------
> Dear all,
>
> I was wondering if anybody knows the origin of the term "deadweight loss". I was able to track it down to Hotelling's 1938 Econometrica paper as "dead loss". Is anybody familiar with any previous record of the term?   
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rojhat Berdan Avsar 
> ----------------- FOOTER TO HES POSTING -----------------
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> http://eh.net/mailman/listinfo/hes
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