Professor Mark Kleiman of NYU and UCLA

I am stunned and deeply saddened by the news that my friend and colleague Professor Mark Kleiman has passed away.  Mark was a brilliant man and a highly influential urban policy scholar.  Here is his Google Scholar page.     The last time I met him was at NYU after I had talked about my 2016 China book and had the opportunity to have dinner with him, Paul Romer and Brandon Fuller.  As usual, Mark was honest, tough and brilliant.  I had a great time.

During our years together on the UCLA Public Policy faculty, I always learned from him.  He knew that I was a “Chicago trained guy”.  Mark studied economics as a young man and during his years on the Kennedy School faculty and during his time in government he interacted with many economists.   He knew how we think.

He invited me to participate in his Same Facts blog.   Here is a post of his from March 12th 2019.
While many commentators on this blog didn’t appreciate my perspective, he always encouraged me to participate and he read and commented on my posts with his usual inquisitive and sharp mind. 

His 2009 Princeton Press book merits special notice.  This important book provided a novel perspective on how to change the “rules of the game” to deter crime. 

He was a straight shooter and a deeply caring man.  I will miss him.