It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Richard Bird, Senior Fellow at IMFG and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Economics and the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Richard was enthusiastic about IMFG from its creation in 2004 and lent his support and encouragement by publishing papers in our research program, reviewing papers, advising graduate students, and participating in events. He was working on an IMFG paper before he passed away.
Richard was a highly respected scholar, a creative thinker, and a prolific writer. Over the years, he worked on many different projects in municipal finance for the IMF, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, USAID, and other public agencies and private consulting firms in countries around the globe. His contributions to public policy in Canada and around the world are vast and will long be remembered.
Richard was known for his kindness toward colleagues and his generous support for young researchers. “Richard was a mentor, colleague, and friend to me for over 40 years and I will greatly miss his support and wise counsel,” said Enid Slack, Director of IMFG.
IMFG extends our condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.