Robert "Bob" Goldfarb

Bob was born in the Bronx, New York on February 7, 1943, but his parents soon moved to East Meadow, Long Island, where Bob grew up. He had an enjoyable childhood with lots of music. His mother Rose was an accomplished pianist, and Bob played the viola in his high school’s orchestra. After graduating from East Meadow High School in 1960, he attended and graduated from Columbia University. He then became a graduate student in Economics at Yale University, earning his Ph.D. in 1968.

Bob was one of three young economists who were hired as assistant professors by Yale’s Department of Economics in 1968. In his first year as assistant professor, he met another of the three new hires, Marsha Geier. He and Marsha fell in love, and were married on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1969. Had Bob lived another 4 days, they would have been married for 56 years.

In 1973 Bob and Marsha moved from New Haven to the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Bob had been hired as an associate professor in the Department of Economics at the George Washington University. In a few years, he was promoted to full professor, and he stayed at George Washington until his retirement in 2011. He was chairman of the Department of Economics between 1983 and 1986. His primary specialty in economics was labor economics, as the years passed, he developed strong interest in unusual aspects of economics, especially the relationship between economics and philosophy, the economics of public art, the economics of obesity and other aspects of the health care delivery system, and various other topics. He published, either by himself or with co-authors, over 80 refereed articles or comments, as well as numerous unpublished reports for various government or international agencies.

Bob and Marsha have one son, Steven, and one grandson, Dexter. Bob has one sister, Judy Bayer. Judy has 2 children, Jamie Abid and Michael Bayer. Jamie and her husband Hatim have two children (Layla and Noah), and Michael and his wife Dana have two daughters, Mia and Emma.

Bob will long be remembered for his wonderful sense of humor, which was especially strong with puns and other forms of wordplay. He loved classical music, visiting art museums, eating out, and spending time at his and Marsha’s condo in Bethany Beach, Delaware. He was a very kind and gentle person, and very much enjoyed getting together with his old friends from graduate school days, many of whom had settled in the Washington D.C. area, and with colleagues from his years at GWU. It was frequently Bob who arranged these get-togethers with his old friends, and it was usually Bob who kept in touch via email with other old friends who had taken jobs elsewhere in the US or in Canada. He knew how to keep friends for a lifetime.

For those of you who would like to make a charitable contribution in honor of Bob, the family would appreciate contributions either to your favorite charity, or to the Alzheimer’s Association.