A nationally known economist who worked in industry, government, and academia, Ben died Jan. 20, 2009, at home in Washington, D.C. He suffered from frontotemporal dementia.
A former president of the National Association of Business Economists and chief economist of the investment firm T. Rowe Price, Ben ran financial-institutions research at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the early 1990s, and later did consulting and was a senior adjunct scholar of the Hudson Institute. The press quoted him often regarding economic developments.
Raised in Allendale and Columbia, S.C., he studied mathematics at Princeton, where he was a member of Terrace Club and senior manager of the Student Banner Agency, and was active in the bridge club. Later on, Ben became a life master in bridge and a board member of the Washington Bridge League.
After receiving a doctorate in economics at Johns Hopkins, he taught at Ohio State and then joined the Federal Reserve Board in the early 1970s.
The class extends its sympathy to Susan, Ben’s wife of 44 years; children Francine, Jonathan, and Paul; his stepmother, Sarah Laden; a brother; three sisters; and four grandchildren.