In memory of Edward Prescott
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our colleague Edward Prescott — one of the most influential economists in the world, a Nobel Prize winner, and a beloved and respected member of the W. P. Carey community for 20 years.
Edward Prescott was born Dec. 26, 1940 in Glens Falls, New York. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, advanced to Case Western Reserve University in Ohio for his master’s degree, and completed his PhD in economics at Carnegie Mellon University in 1967.
Ed joined ASU in 2003, after serving on the faculties of University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie-Mellon, University of Chicago, and University of Minnesota. He also held appointments as a visiting professor at Northwestern University, New York University, University of California – Santa Barbara, La Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo in Mexico, Australian National University, and Norwegian School of Economics. At W. P. Carey he also served as the director of the Center for the Advanced Study in Economic Efficiency since 2009. Beyond academia, Ed served as a senior advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis since 1981.
His research is foundational to the field — and modern understanding — of macroeconomics. He and frequent co-author Finn Kydland were honored with the 2004 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences “for their contributions to dynamic macroeconomics: the time consistency of economic policy and the driving forces behind business cycles.” The impact of his work can be seen in five honorary professorships and doctorates he earned during his life, as well as multiple fellowships and his election to the National Academy of Sciences.
The W. P. Carey Department of Economics remembers all of Ed’s monumental contributions and our thoughts are with his family and friends. The school will share information about official services as it becomes available.