After nearly thirty years in the Economics Department, we are sad to lose former Chair,  Roger Farmer, who will be taking up a new position in the U.K.. Professor Farmer grew up in England, obtained his Ph.D. at Western Ontario and joined UCLA in 1988. Since then he has risen to become a Distinguished Professor, serving as Chair of the Department from 2009-2012. He is best known for his work on multiple equilibria in Macroeconomics, and how government policy might influence which path the economy takes.

Professor Farmer will become a Professor at Warwick University and the Research Director at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, an independent research institute based in Westminster.

He writes: “My role as Research Director at NIESR will allow me to translate my economic ideas from the realm of theory to the realm of policy. I plan to retain my connection with UCLA as an Emeritus Distinguished Professor and I expect to be back frequently to visit my friends and colleagues in the Department and to work with my graduate students.”

During Professor Farmer’s tenure as Chair, the Department created a new degree program: the Masters of Applied Economics. That program had a very successful start last year and we look forward to seeing Professor Farmer continue to teach in the program on a part time basis.

We wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.