Edward Christian Prescott, 81, passed away peacefully on November 6, 2022 in Paradise Valley, AZ of cancer. He was born December 26, 1940 in Glens Falls, NY to William C. Prescott, Jr. and Mathilde H. Prescott (née Helwig).
He received an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College, an MS in Operations Research from Case Western Reserve University, and a PhD in Economics from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Prescott enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an economist. He held teaching and research positions at the University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, the Norwegian School of Business and Economics, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota, and Arizona State University, where he taught from 2003 until his death. Throughout his career, he was awarded many accolades for his research and his contributions to economic theory, including the 2004 Nobel Prize in economics. But he was most proud of the work he did with his graduate students helping them develop into better researchers and professors. Below please find links to notable tributes from academic institutions and the financial press:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/nobel-winning-economist-edward-c-prescott-dies-at-81-11667922532
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-07/edward-prescott-nobel-prize-winning-economist-dies-at-81
https://news.asu.edu/20221107-asu-mourns-loss-nobelwinning-economist-edward-prescott
https://cla.umn.edu/economics/news-events/announcement/edward-c-prescott-1940-2022-economist-teacher-mentor-and-friend
Edward is survived by his wife of 56 years, Janet S. Prescott (née Simpson) of Paradise Valley, AZ; his sons Edward (Joyce) S. Prescott of Cleveland, OH, and Andrew (Catherine) C. Prescott of Miami, FL; his daughter, Wynne F. Prescott of Minneapolis, MN; six grandchildren; his brother William (Carolyn) C. Prescott of McKinleyville, CA; his sister Prudence P. Robertson of Dublin, NH, and his brothers-in-law Donald F. Simpson and Douglas (Holly) O. Simpson.
In addition to his passion for economic research, Ed enjoyed spending time with his family, walking around Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, hiking in Arizona, and travelling the world with Jan.
A memorial service will be held in the Phoenix area in 2023, the details of which are TBD. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to The Center for Advanced Study in Economic Efficiency at Arizona State University.
asufoundation.org/CASEE