William Baumol, the Joseph Douglas Green 1895 Professor of Economics, Emeritus, and senior economist, passed away May 4, 2017.
William Baumol, the Joseph Douglas Green 1895 Professor of Economics, Emeritus, and senior economist, passed away May 4, 2017.
Sad to read about the passing of William Baumol RIP. He inspired me in my early career; not only did he endorse my book but permitted the use of his artwork as a jacket cover. His prescient contributions on contestable markets and his later work on innovation and entrepreneurship will endure the test of time. If anything, his contributions will further research in the 21st century as we struggle to understand the economics of the evolving sharing economy and its impact on innovation and the precariat workforce. His model of total revenue maximisation is relevant today in explaining pricing decisions in real businesses. Sincere condolences to his family, colleagues and friends.
I remember to have asked William Baumol a few years ago what are the 23 problems (akin to Hilbert’s problems in mathematics) that economists ought to solve. He answered me “Poverty, the greatest scandal!”
For me, William Baumol is to economics what Clive Granger, who passed away in 2009, is to econometrics, an inventor using logical reasoning to put his exceptional intuitions into form.