Herbert Scarf, the Sterling professor of economics emeritus at Yale, died of heart failure Nov. 15, 2015, at the age of 85.
In 1951, Scarf received a bachelor’s degree from Temple University. He earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton in 1954. Then he worked for the RAND Corp. and taught at Stanford before going to Yale in 1963. At Yale, he taught for more than 50 years and had been director of its Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics.
A mathematician who never took a class in economics, Scarf’s theories were responsible for great advances in economic analysis that helped shape macroeconomic policies. His most enduring accomplishment was the Scarf algorithm, which enabled an assessment of the overall economic impacts from such policy initiatives as tax reform or trade liberalization.
Scarf was a member of the American Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. The American Economics Association recognized him as a distinguished fellow in 1991. His awards included the John von Neumann Medal from the Operations Research Society. More than one Nobel Prize citation recognized him for his groundbreaking contributions.
He is survived by Maggie Scarf, his wife of 62 years; three daughters; and eight grandchildren.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.