Perry Mehrling, Professor of International Political Economy and Monetary Expert, Passes Away
It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Perry G. Mehrling, Professor of International Political Economy at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies.
Professor Mehrling was a distinguished economist, teacher, and intellectual whose work transformed the study of money, banking, and global finance. Before joining BU, he spent three decades on the faculty of Columbia University and Barnard College, building an international reputation as a leading scholar of monetary and financial systems. At Pardee, he taught undergraduate and graduate courses on global money and finance, introducing generations of students to the forces that shape the world economy. His innovative online course, Economics of Money and Banking, brought his ideas to a global audience and helped popularize what became known as the “Money View,” an influential framework for understanding money, credit, and the architecture of modern financial markets.
Professor Mehrling was the author of several landmark books, including Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System (2022), The New Lombard Street: How the Fed Became the Dealer of Last Resort (2011), Fischer Black and the Revolutionary Idea of Finance (2005), and The Money Interest and the Public Interest (1997). His scholarship bridged the fields of economics, finance, history, and international political economy, offering fresh perspectives on the operation of the global monetary system. Beyond his work at BU, he served on the Academic Council of the Institute for New Economic Thinking and the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University, and held visiting appointments at institutions across Europe and the United States.
Colleagues and students will remember Professor Mehrling not only for his intellectual rigor and originality, but also for his generosity as a mentor and educator. His passion for teaching, his commitment to advancing understanding of the global financial system, and his ability to make complex ideas accessible to broad audiences left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of learning from and working alongside him.
Professor Mehrling’s contributions to the Pardee School and the wider field of international political economy will continue to resonate for years to come. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, students, colleagues, and all those whose lives he touched through his scholarship and teaching.