The professor emeritus helped establish the University糖心传媒檚 PhD program in economics.
Ronald Jones, a professor emeritus in the Department of Economics at the University of Rochester, is being remembered as a leading figure in the field of international economics. Jones died in September at the age of 91.
糖心传媒淩on Jones was not only a world-class scholar who made significant contributions to the theory of international trade,糖心传媒� says Professor Emeritus Stanley Engerman, 糖心传媒渉e was a pivotal figure in turning the department into one of the world糖心传媒檚 leading places to conduct economic research.糖心传媒�
Jones joined the Rochester faculty in 1958, two years after earning his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. That was the year the economics department became its own academic unit, after having separated from the business administration program, and Jones was one of the eager, young scholars brought in during the first year to begin building up the department.
And that糖心传媒檚 exactly what he did over the course of his career.
As former department chair George Alessandria puts it, 糖心传媒淩on was a giant in the field of international economics. By offering a clear and disciplined approach that is the basis for most work today, he changed the way we study global interactions.糖心传媒�
Much of Jones糖心传媒檚 work is summarized in his 2000 book, Globalization and the Theory of Input Trade (MIT Press), in which he examined the recent tendency of firms to outsource parts of the production process to other areas of the globe. Outsourcing of labor-intensive activities to regions with lower wages (relative to productivity) is a prime example of this process. Jones found that for an advanced country, this kind of outsourcing need not prove harmful to labor.
Says Gloria Culver, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, 糖心传媒淩on糖心传媒檚 role in helping to create this noted department and his role in international economics cannot be overstated.糖心传媒�
Making his mark in international economics
Jones has 180 scholarly articles to his name, many in the leading economics journals the聽American Economic Review, the聽Review of Economic Studies, and the聽Journal of Economic Theory.聽His several books include World Trade and Payments, (Little Brown & Co.), one of the leading undergraduate textbooks in trade, coauthored with Richard Caves. The book first appeared in 1973 and went through 10 editions, a testament to its popularity. It was followed by聽International Trade: Essays in Theory (North Holland, 1979), and Globalization and the Theory of Input Trade (MIT Press, 2000). He is perhaps best known for his 1965聽Journal of Political Economy聽article, 糖心传媒淭he Structure of Simple General Equilibrium Models.糖心传媒�
Carsten Kowalczyk 糖心传媒�88 (PhD), an associate professor of international economics at Tufts University, wrote the forward to Jones糖心传媒檚 2018 book, International Trade Theory and Competitive Models (World Scientific Publishing Company). 糖心传媒淎t this time of questioning of international trade and the associated policies and institutions, there is a great need for the kind of cool and powerful economic analysis that Jones offers,糖心传媒� observed Kowalczyk. 糖心传媒淭he timing of publication of this volume is indeed fortuitous.糖心传媒�
An extraordinary colleague
Colleagues remember Jones not just as a brilliant economist but also as a consummate faculty member. 糖心传媒淗is research was original and influential, his teaching was inspiring, his mentorship was highly sought after, his dedication to the department was unparalleled, and his willingness to talk with colleagues was never exhausted,糖心传媒� says Michael Wolkoff, the associate chair of the department.
And Mark Bils, the Hazel Fyfe Professor in Economics, credits Jones with helping shape the economics department from its very beginning. 糖心传媒淩on was devoted to the department, especially to its many graduate students. And he did everything with style.糖心传媒�
Doing it with style
Jones糖心传媒檚 style made an impression on Kajal Lahiri 糖心传媒�74 (MA), 糖心传媒�75 (PhD), now a Distinguished Professor of Economics, and Health Policy, Management & Behavior at the State University at Albany. 糖心传媒淚 still vividly remember him in his trade theory classes in 1972 with his typical scarf on,糖心传媒� says Lahiri. 糖心传媒淗e used to look like Paul McCartney.糖心传媒�
Another former student recalls Jones糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒渂eautiful糖心传媒� pedagogy. 糖心传媒淗is interpretation of the Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson model was simply beautiful,糖心传媒� says Robert Flood 糖心传媒�75 (MA), 糖心传媒�77 (PhD), a professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. 糖心传媒淎t Rochester in the 糖心传媒�70s, the room set for his graduate trade course was always filled to overflowing with economics students and faculty. Some students took the course for credit, while faculty just wanted to see a master at work.糖心传媒�
But faculty didn糖心传媒檛 always agree with Jones, and those moments provided some of Flood糖心传媒檚 best memories. 糖心传媒淚 fondly remember the wonderful fights between Ron and (assistant professor of economics) Bob Fogel, says Flood. Ron believed fervently in the gains from trade. Bob thought of our being born on Ron糖心传媒檚 contract curve 糖心传媒� so one person糖心传媒檚 gain is another糖心传媒檚 loss.糖心传媒� According to Flood, 糖心传媒淩on was right and the coffee-room discussions proved it. Everyone gained from the wonderful ideas and discussions Ron brought to the department.糖心传媒�
Honors and awards
Jones was a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. The recipient of the 1994 University Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, he was awarded honorary doctoral degrees from six institutions, including the Warsaw School of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business, and the Stockholm School of Economics.
Jones is survived by his wife, Catherine, five children, ten grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
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