I just learned that Jerry Ellig died suddenly last night. This news is awful and terrible at both a personal and professional level.
Jerry was a GMU Econ alum and former Mercatus Center scholar. For the past several years he worked at George Washington University’s Regulatory Studies Center.
Jerry was a uniquely insightful and careful economist, and a helluva nice and funny guy. As my colleague Pete Boettke just observed by e-mail, Jerry seemed like the kind of person who never aged. (Jerry and Pete were in the same grad-student cohort at GMU, one that entered in 1984.)
Regular readers of Cafe Hayek – or of the Wall Street Journal – will recognize Jerry’s name. Recently, he’s written several pieces with Phil Gramm, each busting prevalent and dangerous economic myths. This piece from 15 months ago is especially relevant now.
Among the papers that I’m most proud to have my name on is this one that Jerry and I wrote together in 1992.
In this photo taken on GMU’s Fairfax campus in the Spring of 1987, Jerry is the guy in the white shirt standing at the far right in the second row (from the front).
Rest peacefully, my friend. You’ll be intensely missed.
