Since the beginning, David has been an essential point of reference for the MEST-EMLS network, which he has constantly nourished and supported with great commitment and generosity, as a representative teacher of LSE.
He represented for the MEST and the larger socio-economic community, a specific school of Industrial relations and labour economics, excelling in the cross-national comparison and interdisciplinarity.
Intellectual originality and honesty, modesty and a high level sense of institutions are just some of the traits we want to remember.
Many of us, have regularly participated in SASE’s Labour Market network he led for decades, always finding in him a generous and stimulating interlocutor, who especially had younger scholars at heart.
European in nature, facing the troubled times of Brexit - which had grieved him a lot - he recently wrote to us :
“we at LSE are very keen to continue working with the MEST and to take incoming students, and to send some of our own, especially via the project route. It looks as though the British Council may take over student exchanges at some point in the future, and I hope that once the mad illusions of Brexit have faded, it might be possible to work through that channel. We also hope to continue other scholarly projects with you”.
Students and colleagues of the Network have lost a great teacher and researcher.
We have a true debt of gratitude to him, he was a lovely person and we will greatly miss his positive input, and his collegial spirit.
Our deepest condolences to David’s family.

Renata Semenza
Professor of Economic Sociology
Dept. of Social and Political Science
University of Milan