20 March 2007

Passing of noted NZ economist John McMillan

Finance Minister Michael Cullen has noted with sadness the recent death of Professor John McMillan, Professor of Economics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

"Professor McMillan was a New Zealander who made an outstanding contribution to economic theory and practice. His best-known work of popular exposition of economic issues was Reinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of Markets.

"Apart from being a very skilful communicator to the general public, Professor McMillan was also a significant theorist. His last book on games theory, Games, Strategies and Managers, became a standard text for MBA reading purposes.

"He was born in Christchurch and, like myself, developed a great love of mathematics under the inspired teaching of Alan Ramsay at Christ's College.

"He went on from there to Canterbury University and then to a distinguished academic career in Australia, Canada and the United States.

"He was only 56 when he died and had been fighting cancer since 1998. My sympathies go to his family, both here and in the United States," said Dr Cullen.

ENDS

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