Patrick Ludvig Bajari passed away on April 14, 2025, after a courageous battle with cancer at the age of 55 years. He was a major figure in the economics profession and was deeply connected to Minnesota Economics, and his reputation grew to one of national prominence.
Pat was born and raised in Minnesota, where his family’s success as both farmers and business owners taught him the value of hard work and setting bold goals. His early lessons—rooted in hands-on experience and intellectual curiosity—shaped a lifelong belief: the best discoveries happen where disciplines meet.
Early in life, he worked on the family farm and helped his Grandpa Pat sort and clean metals. His yearning for knowledge began at a young age as he always had a lot of questions. Grandpa Pat “ his namesake” once said “ that kid thinks too much about the universe” probably because he was asking him lots of questions while helping clean and prepare copper, aluminum and brass. After high school graduation, he worked as a laborer for Bituminous Paving, Ortonville, MN.
He graduated from Annandale High School in 1987. He completed both his undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, earning BS degrees in Economics and Mathematics in 1992 and his PhD in Economics in 1997. His academic career included faculty positions at Harvard, Stanford, Duke, and Michigan before he returned in 2006 to join the Minnesota faculty. In 2010, he went on leave to become Chief Economist at Amazon, eventually making the move permanent. In Pat’s words, “…when I saw the data wave blowing up in tech, I knew I had to stay and be a part of it. I gave up tenure and dove all in.” He played a transformational role in leading the emergence of tech-economics in industry—one of the major developments in economics in recent years. In 2023, he became Chief Economist at Keystone.
Pat’s contributions to academic economics will be long-lasting—not only through his major body of work in industrial organization, but also through the students he mentored, many of whom have become leaders in the field themselves. Pat asked a lot of his students, and he gave a lot in return.
With his move to Amazon, Pat helped transform the business of e-commerce, combining economics and data analysis to guide business decision-making. His 2023 interview, published after he joined Keystone, is recommended reading because it distills what Pat was creating and captures the excitement he had doing it, including his comment: “Amazon was like a candy store of data-driven tech problems to work on.” In terms of results, the title of a 2019 CNN article says a lot: “Amazon gets an edge with its secret squad of PhD economists.” The article goes on to explain how Pat built an economics group from scratch, with over 150 PhDs at the time of the article. Later the number would increase to over 400. Other companies soon emulated Amazon, including Uber and even Walmart. This development became known as tech-economics, and the sector now accounts for a significant share of PhD job placements.
At the end of the 2023 interview mentioned above, Pat was asked, “Do you have anything to add?” He offered two reflections that serve as a fitting coda. The first was about the importance of integrating across fields in business: “A diverse team often created better solutions.” We can’t help but note that this was also one of the hallmarks of his academic success. For the second, we quote Pat verbatim: “I also try to keep myself humble (although I fail occasionally). I’m from Minnesota. I was taught to keep your head down, work hard, be sincere, and good things can happen with perseverance.” With all due respect to Pat’s Minnesota modesty, we can safely say he put his head down, worked hard, and achieved extraordinary things.
Beyond his professional achievements, Pat had an appreciation for life’s simple pleasures. His love of fly-fishing was second only to his deep love for his twin daughters, Anja and Sylvi. He always spoke of them with immense pride and love, cherishing every moment they spent together. They came first in his life. He was the best of Fathers.
Patrick L. Bajari is survived by his daughters, Anja and Sylvi; his parents, Ann and Jerry; his siblings, Bill and Mary and brother-in-law Chris; his loving aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews and cousins; and a vast community of friends, students, colleagues, and admirers who are better for having known him.
Pat was preceded in death by his grandparents Leon and Agatha Horstman, Pat and Shirley Bajari, uncles Paul Horstman and Allan Bajari, cousins Riika Bajari, Sarah Lange, and Jonah Kerrigan.
Wake will be held on Friday, April 25, 2025, from 4 pm to 7 pm at Swanson Peterson Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 655 Broadway Avenue South, Cokato, MN
Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, April 26 at 1 pm at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 110 Winsted Ave West, Winsted MN
In Lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to:
The American Cancer Society or
‘Department of Economics Annual Fund in memory of Pat Bajari’ at the University of Minnesota Foundation. Donations may be sent to: UMF, P.O. Box 860266, Minneapolis, MN 55486-0266 or online at z.umn.edu/PatrickBajari