Consumer policy expert Scott Maynes dies at age 84

E. (Edwin) Scott Maynes, professor emeritus of policy analysis and management and an expert on consumer policy, consumer decision-making and survey research methodology, died at his home in Ithaca, June 24, at age 84.

Born in Meriden, Conn., in 1922, Maynes graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1947, after serving in the U.S. Army Air Force as a cryptographer in Europe. While at Springfield College, he took economics courses at nearby Mount Holyoke College, becoming its first male student. He then earned an M.A. in economics at Wesleyan University and Ph.D. in economics at the University of Michigan.

After 18 years at the University of Minnesota, Maynes joined the faculty of Cornell and taught consumer economics for 17 years. He contributed significantly to the development of the consumer economics field, both at Cornell and internationally. He pioneered the "perfect information frontier" model of consumer choice, in which quality is conceptually specified and measured.

In India he was instrumental in designing and conducting the Delhi Savings Survey (1958-59), and he influenced the All-India Urban Savings Survey (1960-61) and the Rural Savings Survey (1962-63). In Argentina he designed several consumer surveys. He was the organizer of the first International Conference on Research in the Consumer Interest in 1986 and edited its volume of proceedings. He was the author of "Decision-Making for Consumers: An Introduction to Consumer Economics" (1976) as well as more than 70 other scholarly publications.

He is survived by his wife, Blanche, three children, a sister and extended family. A celebration of his life will be held Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Church in Ithaca. Memorial donations can be sent to the First Unitarian Society, P.O. Box 6, Ithaca, NY 14851, or Hospicare, 172 E. King Road, Ithaca, NY 14850.

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