Report from the Ad Hoc Committee on the Use of Social Media in Economics
Date: | January 16, 2025 |
To: | Members of the American Economic Association |
From: | Peter L. Rousseau, Secretary-Treasurer |
Last year, 2024 AEA President Janet Currie formed an ad hoc Committee on the Use of Social Media in Economics. The committee members are Tim Bresnahan (Chair), Belinda Archibong, Florian Ederer, Sarah Jacobson and Corrine Low. The charge was to assess and document the opportunities offered by different social media platforms to the economics profession and the problems arising therefrom. Additionally, the committee was asked to prepare a set of recommended best practices for economists, the AEA, economics departments, and other employers of economists.
The committee invested many hours in an effort to address these concerns and goals, including a survey of the membership and one-on-one interviews. Details on the process, findings, and recommendations from the ad hoc committee are available in its report at https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/committees/social-media/report-2025. I encourage you to take the time to read through it.
The AEA leadership thanks the committee for its dedication to examining this critical matter for the profession. Additional steps will be taken going forward as recommended by the committee, which will be communicated to AEA members as they are implemented.