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Michael Mussa, who passed away suddenly on January 15, 2012, at age 67, was more than a former Booth professor, more than a contributor to Business Forecast and Economic Outlook, even more than a great mentor and friend. His colleagues remember his biting wit, unmatched analytical prowess, and generous spirit. Mussa was an insightful economist who both advised President Ronald Reagan from 1986 to 1988, and served as the chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1991 until 2001. At the time of his death, Mussa was a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute in Washington DC.
Mussa received his master’s and PhD in economics from the University of Chicago and became a professor at Booth in 1976, where he remained an active member of our faculty until 1991, at which time he took a leave of absence to go to the IMF. Randall Kroszner, Norman R. Bobins Professor of Economics, says that Mussa “was one of the rare economists who made deep contributions to economic theory, perhaps most prominently related to exchange rate dynamics, and to practical economic policymaking… A true Chicago original.”
Emeritus Professor Robert Aliber remembers, “Mike was brilliant—and fearless, always ready to challenge his older colleagues and to provide guidance to MBA and PhD students. His technical competence was superb, but he was one of the few with these skills who had a strong sense of relevance. Mike had a keen sense of policy, and how ambitious one might be in advancing policy reforms. He was remarkable in his understanding of public finance, monetary theory and policy, international trade and international money. Few matched his breadth as a one-person department.”
His witty and sometimes blunt prognostications earned Mussa a reputation as a strong-minded economist who stood by his principles no matter the pressure. Morris Goldstein, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, told the New York Times that these qualities “made [Mussa] very useful as a policy analyst because he would always tell it to you straight.” He delivered quips that did not hide his determined opinions. “In Washington,” he said, “truth is just another special interest, and one that is not particularly well financed.”
John Huizinga, Walter David “Bud” Fackler Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, says that Mussa was part of what made Booth a remarkable place. “When I came to the business school in 1980 as a new assistant professor, the three people who taught me the most about what made this a special place were Merton Miller, Gene Fama, and Mike Mussa,” he recalls.
Mussa believed foremost that “Free people, guided by their self-interest in building better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities—disciplined by the forces of competition of a market-oriented economy within a law-abiding society—are the fundamental engine of economic progress.”
Mussa was a force of generosity during his 15 years as a professor at Booth. Canice Prendergast, W. Allen Wallis Professor of Economics and Booth Faculty Fellow, remembers, “Soon after I arrived in Chicago in 1990, a nervous newcomer, Mike banged on my office door and trooped in. He was not a member of my group at the school, nor did our research interests overlap that much, yet Mike went out of his way to welcome all the new faculty to the school.” A gourmand and oenophile, Mussa was quick to uncork select vintages from his personal collection of more than 4,000 bottles and share them with his colleagues. “Mike played a great role in helping our families settle, through the wonderful dinners that he would organize in his home for us… I remember fondly the kindness he showed to all, the long dinners with copious amounts of wine that were (and still are) far beyond anything I could appreciate.”
Although he left academia in 1991, Mussa still cherished the life of the mind. In a convocation address to the University of Chicago’s graduating class of 1991, Mussa said that he was leaving Booth to assume a position at the IMF, “an institution that has helped to shape the economic policies of many countries around the globe. Important as that institution may be, however, its influence pales in significance to the power of an idea.”
Professor Eugene Fama, Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, will “always remember Mike for his biting wit and his deep insights on macroeconomic research. I learned a lot from him, and I was really unhappy when he left Booth.”
Says Huizinga, “If I ever had a conversation with Mike during the past 31 and a half years in which I didn’t learn something then it was so long ago I can’t remember it.” Prendergast added, “His generosity—of his time, his knowledge, and his spirit—will be very much missed.”
— Laura M. Browning