Finance & economics | Free exchange

William Baumol, a great economist, died on May 4th

A prolific writer and originator of the idea of “cost disease”, he was 95

ON MAY 4th William Baumol, one of the great economists of the 20th century, died. Mr Baumol, who kept working into his 90s, published more than 500 papers across a dazzling array of topics; his best-known work, describing “cost disease”, was essentially a side-project. He was a scholar whose stray thought on a sleepless night could change how people see the world.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Embrace the contradictions”

Trumponomics: What it is, and why it is dangerous

From the May 13th 2017 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Finance & economics

Europe’s economic growth is extremely fragile

Risk is concentrated in one country: Germany

How vulnerable is Israel to sanctions?

So far, measures have had little effect. That could change


Why companies get inflation wrong

Bosses should pay less attention to the media


What is behind China’s perplexing bond-market intervention?

The central bank seems to think the government’s debt is too popular

How to invest in chaotic markets

Contrary to popular wisdom, even retail investors should pay attention to volatility