For a long time, and in a number of different capacities, Paul was a regular participant in our departmental activities. He earned his PhD degree from the IIES in 1997 and remained here as a research fellow 1997-2000. From 2000 and until 2015, he then worked abroad: at the University of Western Ontario (Canada), the University of Southampton (England), and  Simon Fraser University (Canada). During this time, he frequently visited us, and he also held visiting positions at a number of institutions in the United States and elsewhere; in 2015 he took up a position at the Department of Economics at Stockholm University. Paul was a macroeconomist and, in most of his papers, applied macroeconomic theory in order to study important phenomena from a quantitative perspective. Paul was well known for his uncompromising rigor, which he applied in his own work and in his commentary and advice on the research of others. His presence here will be sorely missed on a purely professional level. He also played an important role in the PhD program here as a teacher of a number of different courses over the years, and in his role as a PhD advisor.

The inauguration of the research institute CeMoF. Photo: Ann-Sofie Kolm/Stockholm University

For those of us who were blessed with knowing Paul on a personal level, what will remain in our memories is, first, a fundamental kindness. He was also a very humble person; the sharp irony he sometimes expressed in his commentary was more often than not applied to his own statements and actions, with balance and fairness at center stage. Perhaps most importantly, Paul was a person with sharp wit who could make us laugh, and laugh very joyfully: his ability to make interesting observations, and retell them, from a humorous perspective, was unsurpassed. He had an amazing command of language – and many of the jokes we became used to hearing Paul deliver were indeed language twists. He was also a very good singer and he loved the outdoors. He very much enjoyed good food and wine, especially when consumed surrounded by good friends. All these friends are suffering right now and trying to get over the irreversibility of the terrible news that we will no longer have Paul among us.

After work with PhD students at Ladan. Photo: Ann-Sofie Kolm/Stockholm University

If you have questions or would like to contribute stories about Paul, please contact us by email or stop by to contribute to the remembrance book.

Per and Tessa

per.krusell@iies.su.se

tessa.bold@iies.su.se