Philip W. Bell

Philip W. Bell was born on October 24,1924 to Samuel D. Bell and Miriam Wilkes Bell of New York City. Following service as a pilot in the U. S. Air Force during World War II, he began his career as a correspondent for the New York Times. In addition to baccalaureate and doctoral degrees in economics from Princeton University, Bell holds a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He served on many university faculties in the United States, including the University of California, Berkeley; Haverford College; Rice University; and Boston University, and has held numerous visiting professorships throughout the world. 

He has published over 30 articles and 12 books and monographs, including The Theory and Measurement of Business Income, published with Edgar Edwards. Much of his scholarly work sought to bring accounting and economics closer together, an interest he applied in work with developing countries and consulting engagements with the U.S. Departments of Treasury and State and the U. S. Agency for International Development. Following his retirement from Boston University in 1992, he had continued to write, consult and accept visiting professorships. 

Professor Bell resided in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, with his wife Jean Wyeth Bell; he had four children, Susan, Geoffrey, Mary Ellen and James, and nine grandchildren. Philip W. Bell died on August 1, 2007 at age 83