We share with deep sadness that Professor Emeritus of Economics Michelle White, passed away on April 18, nine years after being diagnosed with cancer. A pioneer advocate for women in economics, White was renowned for her research on bankruptcy law and urban economics. She was 79.
White first joined the department in 2000, and though she retired from teaching several years ago while in treatment, she remained an active member of the campus community, participating regularly in seminars and workshops and advising graduate students as a research professor. Her most recent dissertation defense was a week before her passing.
Born on Dec. 3, 1945, in Washington D.C., White was raised in Bethesda, Maryland. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Radcliffe College/Harvard University in 1967, followed shortly thereafter by a master’s degree from the London School of Economics. White then went on to earn her PhD in Economics from Princeton University in 1973, becoming only the second female graduate in the history of that department.
Breaking boundaries for women in economics began early in White’s career. Prior to pursuing graduate education, she was a member of the Harvard Advisory Group advising the Pakistani government, in the process becoming the only woman in the entire Pakistani government. In her starting faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania, she was the first female tenure-track faculty member in the history of their economics department, a department at the point with 50 faculty members. In subsequent faculty positions at New York University and the University of Michigan, she served as a dedicated mentor to young female members of each department. White was also a role model for a larger group of female economists through the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession. She hoped that her efforts contributed to the growing representation of women in the discipline.
As a scholar, White made an indelible mark on the field of law and economics, especially with her groundbreaking work to understand the incentives created by bankruptcy law and how these incentives influence debtor and creditor behavior, credit markets and economic efficiency. White also contributed on many different topics in urban and public economics, from whether California's Proposition 13 causes homeowners´ mobility to decline, to whether heavier SUVs and pickup trucks reduce traffic safety.
She served on numerous editorial and advisory boards, including for the American Law and Economics Review, and she was a founding board member and later served as the president of the American Law and Economics Association. She also became a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2002.
White taught in the Ford-Foundation-sponsored Training Program at People’s University in Beijing in 1986, was a Fulbright Scholar at Warsaw University in 1990, and taught at the New School of Economics in Moscow in 1998. She was also a visiting scholar at a range of universities from Tel Aviv and Munich to Copenhagen and Uppsala.
White also traveled the world for leisure with her husband and colleague Roger Gordon, a fellow faculty member in the Department of Economics. They enjoyed hiking and going to the theater and opera together – and together built a thriving research group in applied economics at UC San Diego. Their generosity in mentoring young scholars, hosting visitors, and contributing to seminars left a lasting impact on the department.
White is remembered for her kindness to mentees. When meeting with her, a young scholar might get not only great advice, but also a meal and a brisk walk. White will be especially missed in our seminars and on our hiking trails, which she graced with intelligence, humor and a spirit of adventure.
She is survived by her husband, Roger; her sister, Margo, and brother-in-law, Roy, and a large extended family.
