Mark Berger was the William B. Sturgill Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Kentucky (CBER). After receiving his doctorate in economics from Ohio State University in 1981, he joined the University of Kentucky as an assistant professor. He spent his entire, influential teaching career at the University’s Department of Economics (since 1996 Gatton College of Business and Economics) as an Associate Professor until 1989 and Professor since 1989, before named Director of CBER in 1994 and Sturgill Professor in 1998. Several visiting professorships and fellowships led him to the University of Chicago and the European Universities of Vienna, Ekaterinburg and Dublin. Furthermore, he served on the editorial boards of the scholarly journals Growth and Change, Applied Economics, and the Economics of Education Review.

Mark Berger conducted applied research on a broad field of subjects including on-the-job-training, the earnings and employment of workers, unemployment insurance, health insurance issues and higher education. His research has been published in such journals as American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Labor Economics, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, and Journal of Human Resources. Among his colleagues and students he was highly valued as a great scientist and teacher.

The members of IZA were deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Mark C. Berger on April 30, 2003 at the age of 47. An IZA Research Fellow since December 2000, he had been to IZA for a research visit shortly before his death.

In Mark’s memory the "Mark C. Berger Applied Microeconomics Workshop Endowment Fund" has been established.

IZA and all IZA Research Fellows will cherish Mark Berger’s important contributions to labor economics in memory.