Jon Cohen helped shape post-secondary education in Canada. He arrived at the University of Toronto in 1972 as part of the wave of intellectuals from the US, UK and elsewhere who supported the rapid enrollment growth in the country’s universities. During the period numerous Baby Boomers became the first members of their families to attend university and started a national trend toward higher levels of educational attainment.
The Professor Emeritus of Economics and his wife Paola Scaravelli died on March 28th, 2025. Professor Cohen was 85.
“In Jon we have lost an incredibly talented and dedicated researcher and colleague,” said Professor Emeritus Morley Gunderson. “For my wife Melanie and I, the loss of Jon and Paola is particularly painful not only for their longtime friendship but also because we respected their values so much that they became the Godparents of our four children.”
Born in 1939 to Harry Cohen and Ethel Berkowitz in Birmingham, Alabama, the economic historian completed his PhD at the University of California at Berkley in 1966 and started his career at Yale University before joining the then Department of Political Economy. In 1983, that department was disbanded to form the Department of Economics and the Department of Political Science. A third unit, the Department of Commerce also existed for a brief period before the Commerce Program became part of the Rotman School of Management.
“Jon Cohen and I came to the Economics Department from the US one year apart, in 1971 and 1972,” remembered Professor Emeritus Donald Dewees. “His expertise was broad, making him a valuable participant in academic discussion, but he was also unassuming. He was Dean of the School of Graduate Studies while I was one of four Associate Deans in the late 1980s, and I was impressed with his good judgement and steady leadership as we wrestled together for several years with graduate program issues and challenging academic personalities.”
That unassuming good judgement was consistent throughout Professor Cohen’s career.
“Jon had wide intellectual interests and was a active member of the economic history and history of economic thought groups in the Department,” remembered colleague Loren Brant, Noranda Chair Professor of International Trade and Economics. “He is best-known for Enclosures and De-population with Martin Weitzman, and his book on 19th and 20th century economic development in Italy with Giovanni Federico. His is also known for his long collaboration with our colleague Michelle Alexopoulos on productivity growth and technological change.”
During his tenure at the Department of Economics, Professor Cohen was essential to continuing what Brandt describes as “a tradition of members from our department taking on important University roles.” He served terms as Assistant Chair of Economics at Scarborough College and as Associate Chair of Graduate Economics Programs on the St. George Campus. His contributions to the administration of the School of Graduate Studies included two years as Acting Dean and seven years as Dean. He was also active in the broader post-secondary landscape as a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of Graduate Schools based in Washington, DC and as a former Chair of the Ontario Council of Graduate Studies.
After completing the administrative aspects of his career and returning to teaching and research full time, Cohen taught a range of courses from Introduction to Economics to the senior level History of Economics, remembered Professor Dwayne Benjamin.
“He also served on appeals committees and was instrumental to bringing a student-centred perspective to our department that had been missing before,” Professor Benjamin said. “Jon served in a variety of roles and what ever the role was, he brought a level of seriousness and wisdom that had been in short supply.”
Former students remember how Professor Cohen brought economic theory to life through examples from history and life that he was passionate about.
“I remember he talked about how the Italians got pasta first and then the tomato,” remembered alumnus Haixi Li (MA 2006), now Quantitative Analytics Manager at Freddie Mac in Virginia. “He said, ‘you may wonder what pasta tastes like without tomato!’”
Li heard that lecture 19 years ago.
Upon his retirement in 2005, Professor Cohen returned to teach regularly until 2023. His latest publication was in 2024 with work from his collaboration with Professor Alexopoulos still forthcoming.
“Jon was a fantastic colleague, mentor and co-author,” said Professor Alexopoulos. “He will be greatly missed by everyone in the department and especially me.”
While economic history was one of Professor Cohen’s passions, it was not his life. Combining their traditions and influences, Ms. Scaravelli and Professor Cohen co-authored two cookbooks, Cooking from an Italian Garden and A Mediterranean Harvest.
“What struck me about their first book – and it is equally true of this one – is how nicely they meld the traditional and the contemporary,” wrote reviewer Charles Monahan in the 9 August 1987 issue of the Wall Street Journal. “Their recipes have the spice of regional authenticity and yet none of them would be out of place on the table of the most health-conscious contemporary eater. At the same time, they have a genius for simplification. There is a minimum of frippery and faddism.”
Professor Cohen’s varied interests were always evident to his colleagues.
“Jon was a generous, gracious and unpretentious colleague,” said Professor Angelo Melino. “I always valued his advice whether about how to deal with administrative issues or where to find the best Neapolitan pizza in Florence.”
The couple leaves their children content strategist David Cohen and daughter-in-law attorney Haleh Zarkesh of North Tustin, California, and Professor Lorenzo Cohen and daughter-in-law wellness coach, author and educator Alison Jefferies of Houston, Texas. Professor Cohen and Ms. Scaravelli are also survived by their grandchildren Alessandro, Luca, Chiara, and Rubinaz.
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