Edward H. Clarke ’62

Ed died Oct. 10, 2013, in Chambersburg, Pa., of complications arising from dementia.

Ed came to us from Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond, Va. He majored in economics, was involved with Orange Key, and ate at Quadrangle. He roomed with Pearsall, Ludgin, McLaughlin, von Wallmenich, and Price.

Ed earned an MBA at the University of Chicago. Initially, he was denied a Ph.D. since the faculty (including MIT economist Paul Samuelson) thought the demand revelation solution offered in his dissertation was unsolvable. Chicago awarded the degree a decade later, agreeing that he had found a solution for revealing individual preferences. Ed was an aspirant for the Nobel Prize in economics.

Ed worked at the Illinois Budget Bureau and then as an assistant to Treasury Secretary George Shultz ’42. He also served on President Nixon’s Council of Economic Advisors. He was involved with the Office of Management and Budget for 35 years, including stints for the Agency for International Development (in Haiti and Morocco for five years). He continued to work on theories of demand and published Demand Revelation and the Provision of Public Goods in 1978 (see clarke.pair.com for more).

The class extends condolences to Ed’s widow, Phoebe; daughters Ashley and Lindsey; and two grandchildren.