Economics

David Cass, 71, a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania for 34 years, died of emphysema April 15 at his West Philadelphia home. "Dave was an extraordinary scholar and generous man. He made singular contributions to economic theory," said George J. Mailath, chairman of Penn's economics department "He was a cornerstone of the graduate program. " Dr. Cass wrote scores of articles for academic journals, and books on economic theories. He was awarded several major fellowships, including the Guggenheim in 1970 and American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003.

Albert Ando, 72, of Haverford, professor of economics and finance at the University of Pennsylvania and an economic adviser to the United States and foreign governments, died of leukemia Thursday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Ando specialized in monetary analysis and aspects of economic growth. Lawrence Klein, professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania and a Nobel laureate in economics, said that in recent years Professor Ando had studied the life cycle of spending and saving.

Dr. Joseph F. Flubacher, 89, of Moorestown, a retired professor at La Salle University who taught economics at the school for 50 years and became known for incorporating issues of social justice into lessons on economic theory, died of heart failure Monday at Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center in Camden. Dr. Flubacher began his career at what is now La Salle University when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president and the Depression gripped the country. As a young student, Dr. Flubacher was intrigued by legislation aimed at ending the Depression, so he decided to study economics.

James M. Buchanan, a 1986 Nobel laureate in economics, will present a lecture, "Political Economy of the Federal Deficit," on Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Widener University's Alumni Auditorium, 15th and Chestnut Streets, Chester. Buchanan advocates a more limited government role in economic affairs. He is a proponent of greater autonomy for local, grass-roots governments and supports a balanced budget constitutional amendment. Buchanan is visiting the university as part of the School of Management's Nobel laureate lecture series in economics.

Peter S. Elek, 78, of Bryn Mawr, a professor emeritus of economics at Villanova University who also taught English to Eastern European refugees and immigrants, died of cancer Monday at the Bryn Mawr Terrace Convalescent Center. Professor Elek taught at Villanova for nearly 30 years before retiring in 1992. At the same time, he taught intermittently at the University of Delaware, Eastern College, and the University of Pennsylvania. Until a year ago, Professor Elek taught English to thousands of refugees and immigrants who had fled Eastern Europe.

One natural consequence of being taken seriously as a presidential candidate is that people pay attention to what you have to say. And that can be a mixed blessing. Sen. Paul Simon (D., Ill.) is learning that lesson, regarding his views on fiscal policy in general and the federal budget deficit in particular. As Simon's poll numbers rise, his rivals have begun to focus on another set of figures - the ones attached to his economic proposals. Their implicit conclusion is that Simon is not the "Harry Truman pay-as-you-go Democrat" he claims to be. His economics, they say, owe a lot to a Republican president - Ronald Reagan.

Journalism, according to a mordant practitioner, involves reporting the death of Lord Jones to people who have never heard of him. Although George Stigler won the Nobel Memorial Prize for economics, few Americans knew of him last week when he died, full of years - 80 of them - and honors. What should have pleased him most was this fact: The Cold War is over and the University of Chicago won it. Stigler exemplified the "Chicago school" of economics, named for the university where he taught with Milton Friedman (another Nobel laureate)

Howard Beach, N.Y. Forsyth County, Ga. The Citadel in South Carolina. The University of Massachusetts at Amherst. These are new place names on the map of racial violence. As symbols, they remind us that the agenda of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is still unfinished, that race-conscious behavior continues to endanger our society. But there is another danger: that these incidents will be seen as isolated episodes and not as broad reminders that much work remains to complete the King agenda.

One of the worst things about an economic crisis is that we are forced to turn to the professional economists for enlightenment. But it is easier to read a physician's prescription than to understand an economist. And to make things worse, no two economists ever agree. If they sense an agreement, one of them quickly shifts position. They realize that if they agreed, it could drive down the market value of both of them. But at last I have found one of them who makes complete sense.

Oh, the harsh lessons that being in business teaches. A poor location can kill retail sales, Jonathan Malick came to realize. William Cory discovered that his used cars didn't move quickly, but that those irresistible stuffed animals almost sold out. And to garner a good profit, Kevin Golebiewski had to raise his prices on bracelets. The fact that these entrepreneurs were second graders in Ann Western's Plymouth Elementary School class made the exercises in economics no less significant.