Francis Bator, the economist who popularized the term “market failure”, has died at the age of 92 after being hit by a car. His NY Times obituary is here.
Francis’ passing is a cause of sadness for me as my book, Economics In Two Lessons draws heavily on his work from the 1950s and 1960s. He had read excerpts on Crooked Timber and corresponded with me about it, much to my surprise and delight. I was looking forward to sending him the manuscript but now I won’t get the chance.
John Quiggin 
He certainly lived through a great many economic changes if he was born in the reign of Tiberius… (Sorry, couldn’t resist)
To clarify (as the tone may have been inappropriate), my previous wasn’t intended to make light of his passing, just to note that the OP suggests he was almost two thousand years old. I am guessing he was 92.
Yes, fixed now.
so that’s where one of my favourite expressions come from.
“optimal outcome”
is that where “caveat emtor” and “caveat vendor” meet in the middle?