Ernesto Hernández-Catá
It is with much sadness that we report on the passing of Ernesto Hernández-Catá on June 4 in Maryland. Ernesto was a founding member of ASCE who contributed enthusiastically in many ways to the Association.  An alumnus of the Graduate Institute in Geneva and Yale, Ernesto was an economist with a distinguished career at the International Monetary Fund where he held important positions in the Western Hemisphere, European, African and Research Departments. At the IMF Ernesto served as the leader of negotiations with Russia after the dissolution of the URSS. At one time or another Ernesto was involved with key economies at the Fund including heading work on Mexico, Canada, the U.S. and many developing countries in Latin America and Africa. He also worked at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and taught international economics at several universities. Ernesto served as President of ASCE in 2004-2006 and Treasurer in 2014-2018. Ernesto wrote numerous articles on the Cuban economy presented at Annual Meetings of ASCE and at sessions of the Annual Meetings of the American Economic Association. Ernesto was founding editor of the ASCE Blog to which he contributed articles of current interest on a wide variety of topics the last one in February of this year.  His research covered topics ranging from international economics, labor markets, fiscal policy and international relations. He wrote two books and important articles about transition policies drawing on his wide experience with Russia and other formerly socialist economies. Ernesto was a constant help to members of ASCE not only on research topics but on the many ways to promote and sustain the Association. Among his many achievements was the invitation to Yegor Gaidar, former prime minister of the Russian Federation, as a keynote speaker in the 2005 Annual Meeting of ASCE. Ernesto was actively working on ASCE matters until days before his passing when he was preparing a paper to be delivered at ASCE’s forthcoming Annual Meeting in September 2022. We will greatly miss Ernesto’s warmth and sharp intellect and offer our deepest sympathies to his wife Ximena, daughters and grandchildren.