Anthony Dalton SCOTT

Anthony Dalton Scott OC, FRSC August 2, 1923 - February 17, 2015


Tony leaves his wife, Barbara Scott, and his two children, Nicholas Scott and Margot Scott, as well as his two grandchildren, Tlell Davidson and Jack Davidson. He also leaves many nieces and nephews. Tony was predeceased by his parents, Sydney and Edith Scott, and by his brother, Stephen Scott.

Tony was born and educated in Vancouver. He completed undergraduate degrees at UBC, in Commerce (1946), and in Arts (1947), a Master's degree in economics at Harvard University (1949), and in 1953 a Ph.D. in economics at the London School of Economics.

It was in London that he courted Barbara, and they were married there in 1952. Barbara was also from Vancouver, and had met Tony while attending UBC. They recently celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary.

In 1953 Tony returned to UBC to teach in the Department of Economics, where he was Chair from 1967 to 1971. For several decades he played a pivotal role in a period of expansion of the department, and in developing its national and international prominence in research and in graduate education. The many editions of Samuelson and Scott's Economics provided the first doorway into economics for many thousands of Canadian university students.

Tony was regarded as one of the primary founders of the modern field of resource economics, and for much of his career he was among the leaders of the field. Over a 36 year span, he published several books and nearly 150 papers, many of them pioneering contributions to the economics of conservation, fisheries, land use, water resources, oil and natural gas, mineral rights, and forestry. His magisterial final volume on The Evolution of Resource Property Rights was published in 2008 by the Oxford University Press.

In 1955-56 he served on the research staff of the Royal Commission on Canada's Economic Prospects (the Gordon Commission). Tony was the founding president (1966-67) of the Canadian Economics Association. From 1961 - 70 he was a member of the National Advisory Council on Water Resources Research. He was a Canadian Commissioner (1968 -72) of the International Joint Commission. He spearheaded the development of the Canada-Council funded graduate Program in Natural Resource Economics at UBC, and was its leader from 1976-1981, training scores of Canada's natural resource economists.

He served as an advisor to the Environmental Directorate of O.E. C.D. in Paris (1971-75), and was the MacKenzie King Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies at Harvard University (1983-84).

Among his other honours, Tony is a recipient of the Officer of the Order of Canada (1982), and an honorary degree from the University of Guelph (1980). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1969, and won the society's major social science award, the Innis-Gérin Medal in 1987.

Subsequent to his retirement from teaching in 1989, UBC conferred upon him an Honorary Doctor of Letters in 1992 in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the field of resource economics.

Besides his many academic accomplishments, Tony was interested in opera, charades, cryptic crosswords, roses, sailing, Bowyer Island, mysteries, his family, traveling, and the pursuit of knowledge of just about everything. He was gentleman, and a debater, and sometimes combined these two skills admirably.

We would like to thank the wonderful, compassionate staff of nurses, care aides, receptionist, nutritionist, cooks, servers and housekeepers at Blenheim Lodge for making Tony's last two years as comfortable and healthy as they could possibly be.

To our wonderful cousin Naomi, thank you for your love and help. We would also like to thank our lovely friend, Jessica Zay for all the help she has given and continues to give to our family. Many thanks to Dr. Steven Roberts.

A memorial service will be held on February 28 at 1:00 pm, in the Celebration Hall at Mountain View Cemetery, 5455 Fraser Street, Vancouver.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Tony's name may be made to the UBC Development Office online at:
startanevolution.ca/donate By calling 604.827.4111(toll free 1. 877.717.4483)Or by mail at 500 - 5950 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3 In support of the A.D. Scott Graduate Fellowships or commemoration of him in the new home for the Vancouver School of Economics.