Showing posts with label AEA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AEA. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

AEA announces changes in how journals will be produced, financed and distributed

Yesterday's AEA Member Announcements include some substantial changes in how the AEA journals will be produced, distributed, and financed.

The AEA will phase out print journals over the next year by no longer offering print subscriptions for members and institutional subscribers as of February 1.  Existing print subscriptions for members and institutions will be honored through January 2025 but will be unable to be renewed.

In line with most other leading journals, the AEA will end payments to referees for reviews invited on or after February 1.

Collecting publication fees from those benefiting most from the AEA publications program distributes costs of the program more equitably than raising submission fees. With this in mind, the AEA will implement a page charge of $15 per typeset page for published articles submitted after February 1, to be paid by authors, and with provisions to waive the fee under certain circumstances. This page charge will not apply to formally solicited manuscripts (such as Presidential addresses) and will not include articles in the Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Economic Perspectives, or AEA Papers and Proceedings.   

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I wasn't party to these discussions, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone mentioned that per-page charges will feel anachronistic once print journals are no longer produced.  But maybe they will be a mild incentive for brevity (as would per-word charges, which might however inadvertently incentivize sesquipedaleanism).

Friday, August 4, 2023

AEA Guidance on the 2023-24 Economics Job Market Cycle

In an effort to forestall/halt/slow unravelling in the market for new Ph.D. economists, the American Economic Association has released some guidelines regarding interviews and offers.

 AEA Guidance on the 2023-24 Economics Job Market Cycle


July 27, 2023

To: Members of the American Economic Association and Economics Department Chairs
From: Peter L. Rousseau, Secretary-Treasurer
Subject: AEA Guidance on the 2023-24 Economics Job Market Cycle

AEA Guidance on the 2023-24 Economics Job Market Cycle

The AEA Executive Committee, in conjunction with its Committee on the Job Market, recognizes that it is to the benefit of the profession if the job market for economists is thick, with many employers and job candidates participating in the same stages at the same time.  Moreover, the AEA's goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion are fostered by having a timeline that remains widely known and accepted, ensuring that candidates can correctly anticipate when each stage will occur.  The AEA has a role to establish professional norms, which includes ensuring fair treatment of job candidates, including that they have enough time to consider job offers.

With these goals in mind, and in light of inquiries from both job candidates and employers about how to proceed, the AEA asks that departments and other employers consider the following timeline for initial interviews and “flyouts” in the upcoming job cycle (2023-24). 

Timing of interview invitations
The AEA suggests that employers wait to extend interview invitations until the day after job market signals are transmitted to employers (roughly December 1).

Rationale: the AEA created the signaling mechanism to reduce the problem of asymmetric information and allow job candidates to credibly signal their interest to two employers. The AEA asks that employers wait to extend interview invitations until those signals have been transmitted, and to use that information to finalize their set of candidates to interview. This helps the job market in several ways: it reduces the problem of imperfect information, it helps ensure a thick market at each stage, and it promotes the AEA’s goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Job candidates from historically under-represented groups may lack informal networks and thus may especially rely on the signals to convey their interest. Waiting to review the signals before issuing invitations promotes a fairer, more equitable process.

We also ask that all employers indicate on EconTrack when they have extended interview invitations. This allows candidates to learn about the status of searches without visiting websites posting crowd-sourced information and potentially inappropriate other content.

Timing of interviews
Initial interviews may take place any time after the AEA signals are sent (roughly December 1). The AEA recommends that all initial interviews take place virtually (e.g. by Zoom). We suggest that interviews not take place during the AEA meeting itself (January 5-7, 2024).

Rationale: In the past, interviews were conducted in-person at the AEA/ASSA meetings. This promoted thickness of the market, because most candidates and employers were present at the meetings, but had the disadvantage of precluding both job candidates and interviewers from fully participating in AEA/ASSA sessions. 

Initial job interviews went online during COVID, and feedback indicated that the benefits of virtual first-round interviews (e.g. low monetary cost, zero cost in travel time, scheduling flexibility, convenience) outweighed the limitations (e.g. less rich interaction).

We ask that interviews NOT take place during the AEA/ASSA meetings (January 5-7, 2024) in order to allow job candidates and interviewers to participate in the conference.

Timing of flyouts
Flyouts have historically happened at times appropriate for the employer, and the AEA sees no reason to suggest otherwise.  We ask that all employers indicate on EconTrack when they have extended flyout invitations. Unlike with interviews, the AEA does not take a position on whether flyouts should be virtual or in-person.

Timing of offers and “exploding” offers
In order to ensure that the job market remains sufficiently synchronized and thick, and that candidates have a chance to compare offers, the AEA recommends that employers leave job offers open (i.e. do not require candidates to accept or decline) until at least January 31.

The AEA also strongly recommends that employers give candidates at least two weeks to consider their job offer.  We recognize that offers made late in the job market season (e.g., March or later) may be of shorter duration.  In some circumstances, employers are under heavy pressure to give less time to candidates for various reasons.  If that is absolutely necessary, we recommend that employers give candidates a minimum of one week to consider the offer, and that candidates be given advance notice of this (e.g. at the flyout stage) whenever possible. 

Rationale: Recently, there is concern about a rise in “exploding offers” – i.e., offers for which candidates are given too few days to sufficiently consider the offer and their alternatives. This can prevent candidates from learning about their options or comparing offers, and at the extreme can be coercive.  Giving candidates two weeks (or, late in the job market season, at least one week) to consider an offer is a reasonable standard.

We also ask that all employers indicate on EconTrack when they have completed or closed their search.

Job market institutions and mechanisms
Please keep in mind the various job market institutions and mechanisms created by the AEA to improve the job market:

We encourage all employers to review and abide by Best Practices for Economists to Build a More Diverse, Inclusive, and Productive Profession, and in particular those for conducting a fair recruiting process.

Thank you for helping to ensure a transparent and equitable job market for new Ph.D. economists.  

Monday, February 27, 2023

AEA committee on the job market considers early and exploding offers

 John Cawley chairs the AEA committee on the job market, and recently tweeted the request for information below.  Feel free to communicate with him on twitter or directly, as I'll be glad to rely on him to compile and forward all the responses. (I'm one of the few economists not on most social media...but I really will try to read all responses:) (Click to enlarge...)



Monday, September 20, 2021

Keeping the market for new economists thick: AEA guidelines on timing of interviews

 Below are some guidelines suggested by the American Economic Association for the conduct of this year's job market for new Ph.D.s

AEA Guidance on Timeline for 2021-22 Economics Job Cycle

"The AEA Executive Committee, in conjunction with its ad hoc Committee on the Job Market, recognizes that it is to the benefit of the profession if the job market for economists is thick, with many employers and job candidates participating in the same stages at the same time.  Moreover, the AEA's goals of fairness, inclusion, and diversity are fostered by having a timeline that remains widely accepted, even as public health conditions necessitate a virtual ASSA meeting again this year. With these goals in mind, and in light of inquiries from both students and departments about how to proceed, the Association asks that departments and other employers consider the following timeline for initial interviews and “flyouts” in the upcoming job cycle.


Interview invitations
The AEA suggests that employers wait to extend interview invitations until at least Thursday, December 2, 2021.

Rationale: the AEA will deliver signals from job candidates to employers on December 1. We suggest that employers review those signals and incorporate them into their decision-making before extending interview invitations. Job candidates from under-represented groups may lack informal networks and thus, may especially rely on the signals to convey their interest. Waiting to review the signals before issuing invitations promotes a fairer, more equitable process.

We also ask that all employers indicate on EconTrack when they have extended interview invitations; this allows candidates to learn about the status of searches without visiting websites posting crowd-sourced information and potentially inappropriate other content.

Interviews
The AEA suggests that employers conduct initial interviews starting on Monday, January 3, 2022, and that all interviews take place virtually; i.e. either by phone or online (e.g. by Zoom). We suggest that interviews not take place during the AEA meeting itself (January 7-9, 2022).

Rationale: In the past, interviews were conducted in person at the AEA/ASSA meetings. This promoted thickness of the market, because most candidates and employers were present at the in-person meetings, but had the disadvantage of precluding both job candidates and interviewers from fully participating in AEA/ASSA sessions. Given that the 2022 AEA/ASSA meetings will be entirely virtual, we suggest that interviews NOT take place on the meeting dates to allow job candidates and interviewers to participate in the conference.

We recommend that employers wait until January 3 to interview candidates because job candidates may have teaching or TA responsibilities in December, and to ensure that candidates have accurate expectations of the timing of the stages of the market. An unraveling of the market works against the Association’s goal of having a thick market at each stage and also against candidates having uniform expectations of the market’s timing. All interviews should be conducted by phone or online to prevent risk of exposure to COVID, and to promote equity among the candidates.

Flyouts and offers
Flyouts and offers generally happen at times appropriate for the employer, and the AEA sees no reason to suggest otherwise.  We ask that all employers indicate on EconTrack when they have extended flyout invitations and closed their searches.

Job market institutions and mechanisms
Please keep in mind the various job market institutions and mechanisms created by the AEA to improve the job market:


Thank you for your attention to this initiative."

Monday, May 17, 2021

The pandemic and the job market for economists

 It's been a tough year on the academic job market. Here's hoping it recovers quickly.

Committee chair John Cawley submitted the following Report of the Ad Hoc Committee  on the Job Market  AEA Papers and Proceedings 2021, 111: 801–802 https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.111.801

" To share information about how COVID-19 is affecting the job market for PhD economists, we have regularly released memos providing information on the demand and supply of new PhD economists. These memos can be found on our committee’s webpage, but below is a summary of the most recent information.

a. Regarding labor demand: the overall number of job openings on JOE in 2020 was down 26.5 percent from 2019. The number of full-time academic jobs in the United States was down 52.8 percent, and the number of full-time academic jobs outside the United States (and listed on JOE) was down 20.3 percent. The number of fulltime nonacademic jobs listed on JOE was down 17.7 percent from 2019.

b. Regarding labor supply: the number of new JOE job candidate accounts created by students was down 19.1 percent from 2019, and the number of people sending AEA signals was down 14.9 percent."

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Information from the AEA on this year's new Ph.D. job market

Here's an announcement that came by email from the American Economic Association:


Webinar on the new Ph.D. Job Market, hosted by the AEA ad hoc Committee on the Job Market

August 25, 2020

To: Members of the American Economic Association
From: Peter L. Rousseau, Secretary-Treasurer


The AEA's ad hoc Committee on the Job Market will host a webinar on the job market for new Ph.D. economists on Wednesday, September 2, from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. ET.  The purpose of the webinar is to share information about the structure and timeline of the job market for new Economics Ph.D.s, and is intended to help job market candidates in 2020-21 as well as their advisors and placement committees. A pre-recorded video is available at https://www.aeaweb.org/joe/communications which provides information on the Economics Ph.D. job market, such as timelines, institutions, and general advice. The live 90 minute webinar will then be devoted to Q&A on either the material in the presentation or any other questions about the job market that participants may have.  Those answering questions at the webinar include the following:

Aditya Aladangady, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
John Cawley, Cornell University
Matthew Gentzkow, Stanford University
Brooke Helppie-McFall, University of Michigan
Elisabeth "Bitsy" Perlman, U.S. Census Bureau
Peter Rousseau, Vanderbilt University and Secretary-Treasurer of the AEA
Max Schmeiser, Head of Data Science at Twitter
Wendy Stock, Montana State University
Omari Swinton, Chair of the Economics Department at Howard University

The pre-recorded video and the link to the live webinar will be available from the committee's webpage: https://www.aeaweb.org/joe/communications.

This webinar is free and available to all.  Feel free to share with others. 

***********

The communications page includes the following:

 


Tuesday, April 28, 2020

AEA Awards: Clark Medal and Distinguished Fellows

Here's the AEA announcement:

2020 American Economic Association Awards
Congratulations to the 2020 John Bates Clark Medalist, Melissa Dell, and to the newly elected Distinguished Fellows: Katharine Abraham, Shelly Lundberg, Paul Milgrom, and Whitney Newey. View the Press Release for all award announcements.

Melissa Dell, Clark Medalist 2020

Distinguished Fellows
The Award of Distinguished Fellow was instituted in 1965. Past Presidents of the Association and Walker Medalists shall be Distinguished Fellows. Additional Distinguished Fellows may be elected, but not more than four in any one calendar year from economists of high distinction in the United States and Canada. The following economists have received this award:

2020

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

EconSpark: AEA Economics Discussion Forum

The AEA has launched a moderated discussion forum for issues of interest to economists, including (but not limited to) the Economics job market.

EconSpark: AEA Economics Discussion Forum

I just signed up (and tried my hand at answering a question:)

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Videos from the 2018 AEA Posters

This year the AEA meetings continued the tradition of having lots of poster presentations, and of videotaping some of the authors.
You can find those here: 2018 AEA Poster Videos (and the collection from previous years, which right now also includes just 2017 when we started this here: AEA Poster Session Videos).

You can go directly to each of the 2018 poster presentations at the links below:


Ann Owen on gender diversity on bank boards

January 9, 2018
How does having more women on a board affect bank performance?


Antonio Alonso Arechar on the role of honesty in cooperation

January 10, 2018
Does "cheap talk" help people work together?

Carola Binder on how gas prices are tied to consumer inflation expectations

January 10, 2018
How should monetary policymakers respond to energy price fluctuations?


Dennis Bonam on the stability of monetary unions

January 9, 2018
Can monetary unions come back from unstable times?


Elmer Li on assessing school quality

January 10, 2018
Is student mobility a better measure of school quality than test scores?


Jim Marrone on the black market for antiquities

January 9, 2018
How do economists study archaeological looting?


Lei Gao on mortgage discrimination to same-sex loan applicants

January 9, 2018
How do lenders treat homosexual borrowers differently?


Lucy Xiaolu Wang on how health IT reduces opioid-related deaths

January 10, 2018
How can prescription monitoring programs be more effective?


Seth Gershenson on the impact of same-race educators

January 9, 2018
What impact does having a same-race teacher have on long-term student performance?


Shaikh Eskander on how Bangladeshi farmers adapt to natural disasters

January 9, 2018
How do farmers use the land rental market to mitigate the effects of climate change?


Sriya Anbil on emergency lending in the Great Depression

January 9, 2018
How can we identify "bad banks"?

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Video from the AEA meetings (including my presidential address)

If you missed the AEA/ASSA meetings that just finished in Philadelphia, you can still hear some of the talks.

Here's mine (it's about an hour, but afterwards you'll know everything I know):
AEA Presidential Address - Marketplaces, Markets and Market Design
Alvin E. Roth, introduced by Olivier Blanchard
View Webcast

Update: it turns out the AEA website included this picture...


And here are the other videos:

2018 AEA Annual Meeting Webcasts of Selected Sessions

View Webcasts of selected sessions from the Annual Meeting in Philadelphia on January 5-7, 2018! (compliments of the AEA):

January 5, 2018

Climate Policy and Trade
Presiding: Mar ReguantRegulating Mismeasured Pollution: Implications of Firm Heterogeneity for Environmental Policy Eva Lyubich, Joseph Shapiro, and Reed Walker
How Trade-sensitive are Energy-intensive Sectors? Carolyn Fischer and Alan Fox
Measuring Leakage Risk Meredith Fowlie and Mar Reguant
Discussants: Matilde Bombardini, Thibault Fally, and Teresa Fort
View Webcast
TrumpEconomics: a First Year Evaluation
Presiding: Dominick Salvatore
The Effects of Policy Uncertainty Olivier BlanchardThe Impact of the Trump Tax Reforms Martin FeldsteinWhat's Lacking in Trumpean Economic Policy Edmund PhelpsTrump and Globalization Joseph E. StiglitzContinuing Relevance of Secular Stagnation Lawrence H. SummersDiscussant: Dominick Salvatore
View Webcast
AEA/AFA Joint Luncheon - Liquidity and LeveragreRaghuram Rajan, introduced by David Scharfstein
View Webcast
New Measures of the EconomyPresiding: Betsey Stevenson
Estimating Changes in Well-being Using Massive Online Choice Experiments Erik Brynjolfsson, Felix Eggers, and Avinash Gannamaneni
Measuring Social Progress: Evidence from Advanced Economies Daniel Fehder, Scott Stern, and Michael E. Porter
Using Online Prices to Measure Standards of Living Across Countries Alberto Cavallo, W. Erwin Diewert, Robert Feenstra, Robert Inklaar, and Marcel Timmer
Internet Rising, Prices Falling: The Era of e-Commerce and its Macroeconomic Implications Austan Goolsbee and Pete Klenow
Discussants: Carol Corrado, Betsey Stevenson, Dennis Fixler, and Leonard Nakamura
View Webcast
AEA Richard T. Ely Lecture: Competition, Equilibrium, Freedom, and PaternalismDavid Laibson
View Webcast


January 6, 2017

Central Bank Communications
Presiding: Andrew HaldaneFuture of Monetary Policy Communications Alan Blinder
Central Bank Forward Guidance and the Signal Value of Market Prices Hyun Song Shin and Stephen MorrisCentral Bank Communications and the General Public Michael McMahon and Andrew HaldaneDiscussants: Ricardo Reis, Michael Ehrmann, and Refet Gurkaynak
View Webcast
Global Inequality and Policy
Presiding: Emmanuel SaezThe Elephant Curve of Global Inequality and Growth Facundo Alvaredo, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, and Gabriel Zucman
From Communism to Capitalism: Private Versus Public Property and Inequality in China and Russia Filip Novokmet, Thomas Piketty, Li Yang, and Gabriel Zucman
Applying Generalized Pareto Curves to Inequality Analysis Thomas Blanchet, Bertrand Garbinti, Jonathan Goupille-Lebret, and Clara Martinez-Toledano
Extreme Inequality: Evidence from Brazil, India, the Middle-East, and South Africa Facundo Alvaredo, Lydia Assouad, Lucas Chancel, and Marc Morgan
Discussants: Thomas Blanchet, Lucas Chancel, Emmanuel Saez, and Li Yang
View Webcast
AEA Nobel Laureate Luncheon Honoring the 2016 Nobel Laureates in Economics: Oliver Hart (Harvard University) and Bengt R. Holmstrom (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)Presiding: Olivier Blanchard
Luigi Zingales 

Daron Acemoglu
View Webcast
Economic Consequences of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
Presiding: Erik Brynjolfsson
Demographics and Robots Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo
What Can Machines Learn, and What Does It Mean for the Occupations and Industries? Erik Brynjolfsson, Tom Mitchell, and Daniel Rock
Linking Advances in Artificial Intelligence to Skills, Occupation, and Industries Rob Seamans and Edward W. Felten
Human Judgement and A.I. Pricing Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb, and Ajay AgrawalDiscussants: Benjamin Jones, Shane Greenstein, Susan Helper, and J. Miguel Villa-Boas
View Webcast
AEA Awards Ceremony
Presiding: Olivier Blanchard
View Webcast