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Who Runs the AEA?

  • Kevin D. Hoover
  • Andrej Svorenčík
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 61, no. 3, September 2023
(pp. 1127-71)
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Abstract

The leadership structure of the American Economic Association is documented using a biographical database covering every officer and losing candidate for AEA offices from 1950 to 2019. The analysis focuses on institutional affiliations by education and employment. The structure is strongly hierarchical. A few institutions dominate the leadership, and their dominance has become markedly stronger over time. Broadly two types of explanations are explored: that institutional dominance is based on academic merit or that it is based on self-perpetuating privilege. Network effects that might explain the dynamic of increasing concentration are also investigated.

Citation

Hoover, Kevin D., and Andrej Svorenčík. 2023. "Who Runs the AEA?" Journal of Economic Literature, 61 (3): 1127-71. DOI: 10.1257/jel.20221667

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • A11 Role of Economics; Role of Economists; Market for Economists
  • B29 History of Economic Thought since 1925: Other
  • B30 History of Economic Thought: Individuals: General
  • Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification