Tributes to Faculty

Paul Rubin

Emeritus Professor, 1991 - 2024

Department of Economics

Our former colleague and Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Economics Paul Rubin passed away Saturday evening (August 31) with his son Joe and his wife of 40 years Martie by his side.

Paul Rubin joined Emory Economics Department in 1991 as a professor and later as a Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor.  He also maintained an affiliation with the Emory Law School where he taught tort law. During his tenure at Emory, he served as the Economics Department's Director of Graduate Studies and in two occasions as Interim Chair of the Department.

Paul Rubin was a highly accomplished and world-renowned economist who specialized in law and economics and public choice.  He is widely recognized as one of the founders of an entire subfield of economics, now known as law and economics.  When Francesco Parisi organized a book titled “Origins of Law and Economics: Essays by the Founding Fathers,” Paul Rubin was among the first to be invited to contribute, along with Nobel Laureates Gary Becker and Ronald Coase. Paul has published seven books and over 100 papers in refereed journals, including his foundational papers on the theory of the firm and the efficiency of the common law and his hugely influential papers on crime, gun control, and tort reform.  He was the President of the Southern Economics Association for three years and a semi-regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal op-ed page.

Paul Rubin was a great mentor for his junior colleagues and students in Emory Economics Department as well as Law School.  He also co-authored with his colleagues and graduate students.  His classes were among the most popular and the last time he taught Law and Economics to undergraduates, his enrollment was over 120 students, highly unusual for an upper-level elective class.

Besides academia, Paul Rubin’s career spanned public and private sectors.  He served on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers under Ronald Reagan, as Director of Advertising Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, and as Chief Economist at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.  He also served as Vice President of Glassman-Oliver Economic Consultants in Washington D.C.

The colleagues who knew Paul will never forget his kindness and generosity that made him an exceptional person. Remembering his wit and wisdom that were always cloaked in his legendary laughs will always bring joy to colleagues who knew him.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Jewish National Fund or the Amyloidosis Research Consortium.