Alison Snow Jones (fine economist)

The world of economics blogs lost a wise and original voice when Alison Snow Jones, better known to her audience as Maxine Udall (girl economist), died suddenly on Monday.

Through her blog, Maxine (as I will always remember her) gave us a glimpse of a personality that was both deeply serious about the thorny issues confronting us as a society and wonderfully playful in the manner in which she addressed them. She managed to weave personal narratives into economic arguments without ever appearing to be self-absorbed. I never met her but we exchanged occasional comments on posts and linked to each others' writing from time to time. Sometimes one sees more at a distance than is visible at close range.

Steve Waldman has done us all a great service by collecting together in a single moving post a series of excerpts from her most thoughtful writing.

She will be missed by many.

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Update (1/30). Will Kranz writes in (posted with permission):

Thanks for your post. I knew Alison through a family association. We ate, drank, and laughed together for close to 30 years. I know nothing about econometrics, but enjoyed her company. In addition to economics, she was interested in horses... and kayaking.

Will also sent me a link to a photograph with the following explanation:

Alison is probably taking the picture, so not in the image. This is from a trip to the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho she went at least 10 years ago. Its typical of the sort of thing she did. Normally closer to home on the east coast, but a couple major trips to special places.