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Farewell, Ezequiel Uriel

Personas cercanas a él dedican unas palabras para recordarlo con cariño y gratitud

Seven years ago, Ivie’s Newsletter mentioned the autobiography that was being written by one of Ivie’s most well-known researchers, Ezequiel Uriel. The privilege of reading those texts in advance allowed us to learn, not only about the prestigious and respected economist, but also about the boy, the young man and the man he grew up to be. The newsletter mentioned: “Our protagonist was born in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, in a small Spanish village of 500 inhabitants called Corera (Logroño). He was the son of a municipal official and a self-taught woman. There is no denying his research capacity, academic merits and influence as an economist, but in 1938 a newborn’s sole purpose was to survive the war.”

Now, unfortunately, we are writing these words in his memory because, sadly, our dear friend passed away on 14 February 2025, in Valencia, at the age of 86. Although he spent his final years of retirement with his family, he has always been and will always be present at our Institute.

Ezequiel was a leading figure in economic research and also a university professor, something that initially was not in his plans. He began his professional career in other fields, especially as a statistician. Ultimately, he was captivated by teaching as he later admitted: “To teach Econometrics for 50 years without losing a shred of joy is a great satisfaction for me”. He spent most of his lengthy career at the University of Valencia in the Department of Economic Analysis of the Faculty of Economics, as Professor of Econometrics and Emeritus Professor, where he enjoyed countless experiences and made many disciples and good friends.

His contribution to the empirical orientation was fundamental to the Ivie from its creation and continued to be so as the Institute further developed and expanded. The presence and expertise of Ezequiel has been crucial for one of the profiles that best describes the Ivie, its databases. But also his interest in exploring unstudied topics, involving much of his time and effort to develop well-oriented and properly grounded research projects. Ezequiel Uriel participated in over 20 projects over a thirty-year period, which is proof of the scope and depth of his contributions to the results achieved by the Ivie.

Simple in his way of being, yet demanding in his rigor, his colleagues and collaborators at the Ivie knew very well his drive to accomplish objectives, his commitment to work, his candor when expressing his opinion, but also his ability to listen. Promoting and sharing knowledge with society have always been the main objectives of the Ivie that Ezequiel also shared.

More than as a researcher, he will be deeply missed and remembered as a the great person he was. We send our sincere condolences to his family.

Rest in peace, Ezequiel.