David Bradford

It is with the deepest regret that I must inform you that David Bradford has passed away following an accident at his home two weeks ago. David had just turned 66 on January 8th of this year. The news of his passing is the news that was dreaded by all of us. We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Gundel and his children.

David Bradford was a great economist, and one of the heroes of public finance. His work on consumption tax was ground-breaking for the discussion among public finance economists and extremely influential in the US. His papers also addressed a wide range of topics of public interest, including research on conscription for military service, public utility pricing, criteria for public investment, local government, urban economics and a variety of income tax issues. He also showed a great interest in the economics of environmental and climate policy.

David Bradford graduated from Amherst College and was a Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School since 1975, as well as an Adjunct Professor at the New York University School of Law since 1993. Furthermore, he served as a personal advisor to President George Bush from 1991 to 1993.

For many years David had been running the Public Finance section of NBER, with which he remained closely involved until his passing. From 1990, with the exception of his period as advisor to President Bush, he was a member of the CES Advisory Council, and from 1999 he served as Head of the Ifo and CESifo Scientific Advisory Council, which had an important role in steering and evaluating the Ifo Institute. With much gratitude I recall the many sessions that he chaired with great commitment and enthusiasm. His unfailingly alert spirit, along with his unbiased judgement and friendship, was a great help for all of us. Ifo and CESifo would not be what they are without his help.

Hans-Werner Sinn