American Economic Review: Papers & Proceedings 2015, 105(5): 689–697 http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.15000010

Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Committee Boston, MA January 2, 2015

The second meeting of the 2014 Executive future meetings: San Francisco, January 3–5, Committee was called to order by President 2016 Sunday, Monday, Tuesday ; Chicago, William Nordhaus at 10:00 am on January January( 6–8, 2017 Friday, Saturday,) and 2, 2015 in the Fairfax Room of the Sheraton Sunday ; Atlanta, January( 5–7, 2018 Friday, Boston. Members present were: David Card, Saturday,) and Sunday ; Philadelphia, January( Dora Costa, Steven Durlauf, Amy Finkelstein, 4–6, 2019 Friday, Saturday,) and Sunday , San Pinelopi Goldberg, Claudia Goldin, Guido Diego, January( 3–5, 2020 Friday, Saturday,) and Imbens, Anil Kashyap, John Leahy, Jonathan Sunday , Chicago, January( 3–5, 2021 Sunday, Levin, N. Gregory Mankiw, Rosa Matzkin, Monday,) and Tuesday ; Boston, January( 7–9, William Nordhaus, Andrew Postlewaite, Peter 2022 Friday, Saturday,) and Sunday ; and New Rousseau, Christopher Sims, and Richard Orleans,( January 6–8, 2023 Friday,) Saturday, Thaler. Also attending were: Robert Shiller, and Sunday . ( newly elected President-Elect; Ben Bernanke and Registration) for the 2015 meeting in Boston Cecilia Rouse, newly elected Vice Presidents; was 12,859, an all time high. Previous peaks and Rachel Kranton, newly elected member. since 1970 were 12,218 in Philadelphia Attending parts of the meeting to give reports (2014 , 11,624) in Chicago 2012 , 11,408 in San were: Gary Hoover, co-Chair of the Committee Diego( ) 2013 , 10,829 in San( Francisco) 2009 , on the Status of Minority Groups in the 9,908 in( Denver) 2011 , and 9,483 in Atlanta( ) Economics Profession; Marjorie McElroy, Chair 2010 ; the number( of )hotel rooms booked for of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Boston( ) on the peak night was 7,320, in contrast Economics Profession; Jon Skinner and Dan to 7,294 for Philadelphia, 7,439 for San Diego, Newlon, Chair and Washington Representative 7,203 for Chicago, 6,651 in Denver, and 6,739 of the Committee on Government Relations; in Atlanta. Robert Moffitt, Chair of the Committee on To reduce excess demand for the headquar- Economic Statistics; Sam Allgood, Chair of ters hotel, the Association increased the pre- the Committee on Economic Education; and mium for rooms at the headquarters in Boston William Walstad, Editor of the Journal of from an extra $35 to an extra $45 per night. This Economic Education. Incoming editor of the generated $152,000 that is treated as registration American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics fees. It did not eliminate excess demand as the Richard Rogerson, General Counsel Terry headquarters hotel sold out on the first day of Calvani, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer John registration. Given this result the Secretary will Siegfried, and staff members, Michelle DeBlasi, consider raising the premium to $50 in 2016 for Elizabeth Braunstein, Barbara Fiser, Marlene rooms in the headquarters. Hight, Regina Montgomery, Steve Stelling, Jane Rousseau reported that he and Convention Voros, and Dawn Wallhausen also attended. Manager Marlene Hight had investigated San Nordhaus welcomed the newly elected mem- Antonio as a possible site for the 2024 Annual bers of the 2015 Executive Committee and Meeting and that the city could commit imme- noted that this was the final meeting for Card, diately to providing at least 7,500 peak-night Kashyap, Mankiw, Matzkin, and Sims. He rooms for the conference. After discussion, it thanked the outgoing members for their service. was VOTED to authorize Rousseau and Hight to The minutes of the April 17, 2014 meeting were negotiate with San Antonio for 2024. Rousseau approved as written. noted that negotiations with Las Vegas and San Report on the Annual Meetings Rousseau Diego as possible convention sites for 2025 were and Hight . Rousseau reviewed the schedule( of ongoing. ) 689 690 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 2015

The 2015 Program Thaler . Thaler reported rate for submissions. Rousseau was encouraged that the 2015 Program( Committee) had formed to determine an appropriate number of additional an exciting set of sessions, and thanked them for sessions for AFA in light of these factors, likely their service. He described some of the high- 18 more, and to continue pursuing reductions for lights, including the Richard T. Ely lecture to associations with low attendance. It was also sug- be delivered by Raj Chetty, the AEA-AFA Joint gested that Rousseau consider a higher threshold Luncheon with speaker Olivier Blanchard, and of median attendance for reallocations and mov- a special session titled “The Undismal Science” ing smaller sessions to alternative hotels. that would include non-technical presentations AEA Long-term Outlook Nordhaus . by four young scholars—Pascaline Dupas, Nordhaus reported on items involving( AEA) Roland Fryer, Katherine Milkman, and Amir finances and future initiatives. Referring to Sufi. He noted that this session, slated for video- his written President’s Report, he noted that recording along with nine others, would provide the AEA’s target of a balanced operating bud- excellent material for teaching economics at all get each year is inconsistent with maintaining levels and encouraged interested members of a ratio of assets to expenses in the range of 1.5 the Executive Committee to attend. to 2.5 as investment income grows, and that the The 2016 Program Shiller . Shiller current ratio of 3.3 is a result of this pattern. He announced that the 2016 Call (for Papers) encour- recommended that the AEA consider realizing ages submissions that cross the boundaries of some of the income from its investments. This conventionally defined disciplines, and that he is could occur through one-time capital items such forming a Program Committee for the meeting as improvements to the JOE Network, the AEA in San Francisco. He was also considering pos- website, and EconLit, but would likely also sible Ely lecturers, and welcomed suggestions require increases in base spending on high pri- of individuals who would continue Richard T. ority items. He also remarked that some parts Ely’s legacy to economics. of the AEA bylaws were last revised in 1987, ASSA Session Allocations Nordhaus and and that several items, including extending the Rousseau . Rousseau explained (how the ASSA terms of the Vice Presidents to improve continu- Advisory ) Committee, consisting of repre- ity in leadership and re-evaluating the order of sentatives of the six founding organizations succession for the President might be part of the American Agricultural Economics Association, agenda going forward. American( Economic Association, American Rousseau reviewed a set of hypothetical Finance Association AFA , Association for five-year projections of AEA finances assum- Social Economics, Econometric( ) Society, and ing redesign of the website, amortization of Labor and Employment Relations Association JOE Network expenses, increased funding for LERA and three rotating members, meet on the Summer Program, expansion of the AEJs the( final)) day of the ASSA meetings each year from four to six issues annually, introduction of to discuss requests for new member associa- a new journal, and the hiring of an Associate tions and to evaluate session allocations based Executive Director and additional personnel primarily on attendance figures from previous to improve infrastructure for the journals. He meetings. He noted that discussions with mem- noted that these initiatives were only meant to bers of LERA’s executive board and program demonstrate a possible path for the AEA’s asset committee over the previous year had secured to expense ratio. He explained that taking these a reduction in their 27 allocated sessions to 18, initiatives could lower the ratio to 2.7 by 2019 and that further reductions would be considered with an annual operating deficit of about $1.7 based on 2015 attendance. He also noted that million assuming a three percent annual real the Union for Radical Political Economists had return on the investment portfolio and two per- drawn 219 participants to its 16 sessions in 2014 cent inflation. with a median of ten participants excluding Nordhaus announced that he had formed an paper presenters and discussant , and (that action Ad Hoc Committee on AEA Journals Kashyap, to reduce their session allocation) may be taken chair, Card, Judith Chevalier, Goldberg,( Levin, based on 2015 attendance. He also reported on a Rousseau, and Timothy Taylor to investigate the request from AFA for additional sessions due to above initiatives and other suitable) ­high-priority their high attendance and 10 percent acceptance items. Thaler indicated that an effort to improve VOL. 105 NO. 5 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 691 the quality of high-school education in econom- noted that there is still work to do. Rousseau ics might qualify as such an area, and proposed stated that improvements were planned for the further discussion of this at the April meeting of 2016 job market, and that the AEA would con- the Executive Committee. duct a survey of candidates, letter writers, and Report of the Director of Job Openings for employers to determine areas where attention Economists Siegfried . Siegfried reviewed would be effectively focused. his written (report, published) in the 2015 Policy on Retractions Nordhaus, Rousseau, Supplemental Proceedings. He announced that Editors, Calvani . Nordhaus( noted that the JOE had expanded in 2014 to JOE Network, AEA currently lacks) a policy on corrections which is an enhanced platform designed to and retractions of articles published in its jour- automate tedious time-consuming aspects of nals, and described why such a policy is nec- the economics Ph.D. job market. New features essary. He stated that no article has ever been allow employers to search candidate profiles, retracted by an AEA journal to date, but that manage applications received from one loca- there should be a procedure for doing so along tion in a single format, collect reference letters, with clear definitions of corrections, retractions, and download applicant data for sharing among and other related editorial actions. He described members of hiring committees. Faculty writing the current ad hoc procedure in which decisions letters of reference can manage requests, upload about corrections and retractions lie with the custom and default letters, track the completion journal editor, often after consultation with the status of requests, and assign a surrogate to han- President, other journal editors, the Secretary, dle letter requests and fulfillment. Rather than and the Legal Counsel. Nordhaus stressed that the monthly listing cycle JOE had used, JOE such decisions must remain with the editors, Network operates in two semi-annual cycles but added that the Association should have a with job postings remaining active through- statement that includes the right of its editors out each cycle. The number of new jobs listed to retract an article after publication. The ensu- increased by 9.4 percent in 2014. Both job pref- ing discussion considered whether the standard erence signaling and the March job scramble copyright transfer agreement could include completed their ninth years. Signaling allows a certification from authors that the article is job candidates to indicate a special interest in accurate in addition to an explicit statement that two job vacancies in early December. In 2014, the AEA retains the right to retract an article if 1,475 job candidates sent a total of 2,891 sig- warranted by substantial errors or fraud. It was nals of interest to 737 employers. The scramble also suggested that the AEA post a statement helps to match job candidates still available in of this policy on its website. Thaler agreed that March with positions still open at that time. In these issues should be considered over the com- the March 2014 scramble there were 452 job ing year. candidates and 61 jobs listed. Request from Member about Status of LGBT Report on JOE Network Rousseau . Persons in Economics Nordhaus, Rousseau . Rousseau reported that as of December( 16,) Nordhaus discussed an e-mail( received by the) 2014, 4,103 job candidates had registered pro- Secretary from a member requesting that the files on JOE Network, and that 4,898 individuals AEA consider forming a standing committee had registered as reference letter writers. More on the status of LGBT persons in economics to than 8,000 letters were uploaded to the system, address concerns about LGBT-related discrimi- and the system had fulfilled 85,348 requests. nation and lack of mentoring. He stated that Among JOE Network listings, 201 had speci- the e-mail requires careful consideration and a fied use of the letter writing system. Adoption thoughtful response. One challenge noted in the was high among first-time users of a letter writ- ensuing discussion was data that might allow ing system; others have been slower to adopt it. an evaluation of LGBT-related discrimination Nordhaus commended the AEA staff and the is not readily available, and that information Ad Hoc Committee on Job Market Systems and on these concerns would need to be gathered. Implementation for producing such a stable and It was suggested that mentoring events such as useful product, and suggested that more estab- that provided by the Committee on the Status of lished employers were likely to join next year Women in the Economics Profession CSWEP as the system’s success becomes clear, yet also could be useful, as well the formation (of a study) 692 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 2015 group, but that these actions could be considered at the department level on gender composition as part of a more general response that addressed in economics. She also described how signifi- anti-discrimination of other groups in econom- cant excess demand remained for mentoring ics as well. Thaler stated that he would consider at both the national and regional CeMENT forming a group perhaps a sub-committee of workshops, and how attendance at the mentor- the Executive Committee( to examine concerns ing breakfasts at the AEA annual meeting has about discrimination more) generally and in eco- increased. McElroy noted that her successor nomics as broadly defined. may face higher operating costs based on where Report of the Committee on the Status of the CSWEP assistant is located there are cur- Minority Groups in the Economics Profession rently subsidies from Duke University( and no CSMGEP Rouse and Hoover . Rouse referred overhead , and that the Committee would pre- the( Executive) ( Committee to the CSMGEP) annual pare a proposal) for the funding needed to gather report, published in the 2015 Supplemental and secure the past survey data. Following dis- Proceedings, for details of Committee’s activi- cussion, it was VOTED to allocate an additional ties. She announced that the Summer Program $10,000 annually to CSWEP for administrative will hold its final meeting in 2015 under a one- support of the restructure. year extension of the current three-year contract Report of the Committee on Government with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Relations CGR Skinner . Skinner referred Center for Health Policy and the Department to his written( report,) ( published) in the 2015 of Economics at the University of New Mexico. Supplemental Proceedings. He explained that She then reviewed a written proposal from the CGR represents the interests of economists Michigan State University to conduct the pro- by educating and informing policy makers in gram starting in 2016, and described other fine Washington, DC and other parts of the coun- proposals submitted by Texas A&M University try about the importance of economic research. and the University of New Mexico in response These activities range from getting promi- to CSMGEP’s RFP. She noted that MSU’s pro- nent economists to speak with legislators in posal involved scaling up of the program and Washington to encouraging economists to apply a two-tiered plan of instruction, and that MSU for positions there. The Committee also works had already committed $395,000 annually. closely with representatives of the Consortium Supplemented by continuing NSF support and of Social Science Associations COSSA and a $300,000 contribution from the AEA, the other organizations whose interests( overlap) with Summer Program would have the resources those of the AEA. The CGR has never objected needed to reach qualified students and provide to general cuts in government spending, such as them with high-quality training in prepara- sequestration, and has never objected to cuts in tion for the study of economics in graduate overall NSF and NIH budgets, but does advocate school. After some discussion, it was VOTED when disproportionate cuts are planned in pro- to award the Summer Program to Michigan grams of interest to economists for reasons that State University starting in 2016 and to support do not reflect the value of economic research. it with a contribution from the AEA of $300,000 The Committee was active in 2014, holding con- annually. ference calls every four weeks. Report of the Committee on the Status of Economic research continues to be threatened Women in the Economics Profession CSWEP with cutbacks in funding research grants and McElroy . McElroy reviewed her report( on) economic data. These include the elimination selected( )CSWEP activities and results from of grants for economic research at the NIH and the Committee’s department survey, to be pub- cuts in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic lished in the 2015 Supplemental Proceedings. Sciences SBE directorate at the NSF. Among Discussion then turned to a restructure of other actions,( the) CGR reached out to chairs of CSWEP leadership to include two Associate economics departments in states with Senators Chairs: one serving as Director of Mentoring on the Appropriations Committee so they might and the other as Director of the CSWEP Survey. receive time-sensitive requests to contact their McElroy emphasized the importance of secur- Senators if these potential threats became ing, digitizing, and documenting past survey more concrete. The CGR also wrote a letter to results, which include 43 years of panel data the Senate Finance Committee in support of VOL. 105 NO. 5 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 693 improving access to the Death Master File for considerations, it was agreed that AEAStat has research purposes, and advocated for coordina- the expertise to evaluate a role for the AEA in tion of the Census Bureau, BLS, and BEA in improving the usefulness of administrative data their collection of business data. and that it should form a sub-committee to this Report of the Committee on Economic end. Statistics AEAStat Moffitt . Moffitt referred Report of the Committee on Economic to his written( report,) ( published) in the 2015 Education CEE Allgood, Walstad . Allgood Supplemental Proceedings. He explained that referred to (his written) ( report, published) in the Nordhaus had redefined the charge of AEAStat 2015 Supplemental Proceedings. He presented a in 2014 to align the Committee more closely request for an additional $10,000 of annual sup- with the government’s statistical agencies and port for the AEA Conference on Teaching and to work in consultation with the CGR to ensure Research in Economic Education. The fund- that outreach and educational activities in sup- ing would enhance travel support for plenary port of economic statistics are coordinated speakers so that conference locations could between the two committees. The Committee become less dependent on the availability of is concerned with those datasets and statistical local speakers. It was VOTED to approve the agencies that are relevant to the scientific inter- $10,000 increase. Allgood then explained how ests of AEA members, and its activities are kept the Journal of Education JEE , a publication consistent with the AEA charter by not taking primarily dedicated to research( )on higher edu- positions on questions of economic policy or cation in economics, had lost its funding from any partisan matter. the Council for Economic Education, which is The Committee sponsored three sessions at concerned primarily with K-12 education. He the 2015 AEA meetings on topics related to eco- noted that this had placed the journal in a dif- nomic statistics, and recommended that a fourth ficult position, and asked how the AEA might eventually accepted session submitted by the help in locating new funding sources. Walstad, (Council of Professional) Associations on Federal Editor of the JEE, noted how the journal has Statistics COPAFS on the use of administra- maintained a long relationship with the CEE. tive data in( economics) be considered in the gen- Rousseau commented that the journal’s current eral pool of sessions. publisher, Taylor and Francis, has not agreed to AEAStat worked closely with COPAFS on close the funding gap caused by withdrawal of a project to inventory processes for access to the Council’s funds. After discussion, Nordhaus administrative data and to determine which indicated that the AEA leadership should assist administrative datasets are highest priority for the JEE with suggestions of possible new pub- economists. It also offered comments to the lishers or funding sources. Census Bureau about the potential elimina- Report of Committee for Oversight of tion of the “Field of Degree” question on the Operations and Publishing COOP Rousseau American Community Survey, and advocated for Dennis Epple . Rousseau( explained) ( that the for the continued collection of data at the BLS Committee had met) at the AEA Publications on export prices. The Committee commented on Office in Pittsburgh in June 2014 and had how a Clearinghouse for Program and Survey received a number of reports from the staff Data proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan could be about its journal-related and EconLit activi- implemented, and worked in conjunction with ties, as well as on special projects such as the the CGR in support of data synchronization continued development and implementation of across the Federal statistical agencies. JOE Network and redesign of the AEA web- Moffitt discussed a possible role for the AEA site. Committee members remarked that regular in promoting research using administrative data, oversight of the Publications Office was impor- and recommended formation of an ad hoc com- tant because of the large share of the annual mittee or sub-committee to investigate ques- budget allocated to the journals, and also so tions about private data access, replication, and that the Publications staff can realize how much preservation. After some discussion about the their dedication to the AEA is appreciated. implications of increasing numbers of submis- Report on Website Redesign Rousseau . sions to AEA journals that request exemptions Rousseau explained that the AEA had( contracted) from the data posting policy due to proprietary with a web developer in 2014 to evaluate the 694 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 2015 website and make recommendations for its rede- Following Goldberg’s recommendation, it sign. The developer, Bearded.com, developed a was VOTED to reappoint Simon Board and working relationship with the Association’s IT Parag Pathak to second three-year terms and to staff in assessing needs, and had recently sub- appoint Arnaud Costinot and David Donaldson mitted a proposal for development with an esti- to initial three year terms on the Board of mated cost of $180,000. The redesign would Editors, with all terms ending in December include compatibility with a wide range of 2017. devices and use a content management system Report of the Editor of the Journal of that would modularize updates and encourage Economic Literature Durlauf . Durlauf the posting of timely information about the reviewed his written report,( which) is pub- AEA and its activities. A discussion followed lished in the 2015 Supplemental Proceedings. during which the importance of creating and He noted that the JEL has aggressively sought delivering content for the website was empha- extended review essays over the past year as sized. It was recognized that the new interface well as retrospectives on classic books and would provide a more modern look and feel for reviews by non-economists. Acting on Durlauf’s site visitors, but that the expansion of content to recommendation, it was VOTED to reappoint include components such as multi-faceted out- Ariel Burstein to a second three-year term on reach, blogs, twitter feeds, and digests of journal the Board of Editors, and to appoint Ana Aizer, content would be central to its success. It was Martha Bailey, David Donaldson, Veronica then VOTED to award the contract for website Guerrieri, and John Hatfield to initial three-year development to Bearded.com. terms on the Board, with all terms ending in Report of the Editor of the American December 2017. Economic Review Goldberg . Goldberg Report of the Editor of the Journal of referred to her written report,( published) in the Economic Perspectives Rousseau for David 2015 Supplemental Proceedings. She reported Autor . Rousseau referred( to Autor’s report, that submissions to the AER were stable in 2014, which) is published in the 2015 Supplemental and that the acceptance rate rose from 7 percent Proceedings. He noted that the JEP published in 2013 to 9 percent in 2014 due to the expansion nine symposia in 2014, which were comple- of the journal to 11 regular issues per year. She mented by a mixture of articles on a wide array noted that backlog measured as the number of of topics including an economist’s guide to weeks from acceptance( to publication was 36 visualizing data, fluctuations in uncertainty, the weeks in 2014, down from 49 weeks in )2013 and market for blood donations, the economics of 54 weeks in 2012. The time to first decision for fair trade, evaluating counterterrorism spend- submitted manuscripts increased in 2014, with ing, and the economics of guilds, among others. 57 percent of submissions receiving a decision He also noted that 10 of the 43 articles published within three months, down from 77 percent in in 2014 began as unsolicited proposals and that 2013, and with 91 percent receiving a first deci- potential authors are encouraged to submit pro- sion within six months, down from 96 percent in posals as described in the guidelines available 2013. Goldberg explained that the longer three- on the Journal website. Acting on Autor’s rec- month turnaround was largely due to a decrease ommendation, it was VOTED to appoint Anat in desk rejections. She added that nearly half of Admati, Emi Nakamura, and Scott Stern to the articles published in the AER that use data initial three-year terms on the Board of Editors had received some form of exemption from the ending in December 2017. AEA’s data posting policy, and that the requests Report of the Editor of the American for exemptions varied widely by field. A dis- Economic Journal: Applied Economics cussion followed where it was noted that many Rousseau for Esther Duflo . Rousseau referred exemptions are requested for only a small part (to Duflo’s written report, )which is published in of the data used in an article and that other the 2015 Supplemental Proceedings. He noted requests involve restricted data that interested that the Journal received nearly 500 submis- researchers could obtain by taking the same sions for the year ending October 31, 2014, steps as the authors for securing access. It was while turnaround averaged 30 days to first deci- suggested that reporting these categories sepa- sion. He noted that AEJ: Applied continues to rately would be useful. perform well in terms of recent impact factors. VOL. 105 NO. 5 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 695

Acting on Duflo’s recommendation, it was two-thirds of initial submissions receive deci- VOTED to appoint Ilyana Kuziemko to an ini- sions within three months, and nearly all oth- tial three-year term as Coeditor of AEJ: Applied ers within six months. He noted that Rob Porter and Jan De Loecker to an initial three-year term stepped down as Coeditor in 2014, a position he on the Board of Editors, with both terms ending had held since nearly the beginning of the jour- in December 2017. nal, and that his contributions to the growth of Report of the Editor of the American the journal are greatly appreciated. Acting on Economic Journal: Economic Policy Shapiro . Postlewaite’s recommendation, it was VOTED Shapiro referred to his written report, (published) to reappoint Phil Haile and Ran Spiegler to sec- in the 2015 Supplemental Proceedings. He ond three-year terms on the Board of Editors of reported that the Journal received 472 submis- AEJ: Micro ending in December 2017. sions in 2014, up 15 percent from 2013, and that Report of the EconLit and the JEL 80 percent of first decisions were made within Classification System Rousseau . Rousseau three months of submission, up from 71 percent referred to the written report( of Steven) Husted, in 2013, with nearly all submissions receiving a Managing Director of EconLit Product Design first decision within six months. The improve- and Content. He reported that the classifying ment in three-month turnaround is primarily group at the AEA Publications office had identi- due to an increase in desk rejections. He noted fied six new JEL categories at their last meet- that many articles published in AEJ: Policy ing in August 2014, and that 171 journals had are of general interest and might benefit from applied for inclusion in EconLit of which 66 had non-technical summaries posted in digest form been accepted. Revenues from EconLit sales as on the AEA website. Acting on Shapiro’s rec- of September 30, 2014 were 7 percent higher ommendation, it was VOTED to reappoint than those earned in the previous four quarters. Adriana Lleras-Muney and Cecilia Rouse to Report of the Secretary Rousseau . David second three-year terms and to appoint Matthew Autor steps down as Editor (of the Journal) of Notowidigdo to an initial three-year term on the Economic Perspectives and John Leahy steps Board of Editors of AEJ: Policy, all ending in down as Editor of the American Economic December 2017. Journal: Macroeconomics in January 2015. Report of the Editor of the American Rousseau read resolutions for both honoring Economic Journal: Macroeconomics Leahy . their contributions that would be presented to Leahy referred to his written report, published( ) the membership at the Annual Business Meeting in the 2015 Supplemental Proceedings, and and appear in the minutes published in the May introduced his successor Richard Rogerson, 2015 Papers and Proceedings. who will edit the journal going forward. Leahy Rousseau reported that the Association reported that AEJ: Macro continues to pub- had 19,492 paid memberships at the close of lish high quality papers, with submissions up November 2014 in contrast to the 18,239 at the by 13 percent in 2014 following an 11 percent same time in 2013. The default electronic-only increase in 2013. Eighty-three of first submis- option for the journals was taken by 66 percent sions received a decision within four months, of new and renewing memberships in 2014 as of and nearly all within six months. The journal November 30, in contrast to 61 percent in 2013 continues to do very well as measured by recent and 55 percent in 2012. citation-based impact factors. Twenty-seven per- The fourth AEA National Conference on cent of submissions were desk rejected. Acting Teaching Economics Undergraduate, Graduate on Leahy’s recommendation, it was VOTED to Levels and Research in( Economic Education all appoint Virgiliu Midrigan to a three-year term levels ) was held at the Marriott Metro Center( in as Coeditor of AEJ: Macro ending in December Washington,) DC, May 28–30, 2014. It was orga- 2017. nized by the Committee on Economic Education Report of the Editor of the American CEE . Registration was 308. The four plenary Economic Journal: Microeconomics speakers( ) were Alan Blinder, Kenneth Elzinga, Postlewaite . Postlewaite referred to his writ- William Gale, and Cecilia Rouse. In addition ten( report, published) in the 2015 Supplemental to plenary sessions, 78 papers were presented at Proceedings. He reported that submissions 23 sessions, 18 people participated in five panel were up by nearly 6 percent in 2014, and that discussions, and nine individuals conducted two 696 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 2015 practicum workshops. Including the AEA’s sup- rather than waiting until an issue is published. port, revenues from the conference met expen- Prepress also improved mathematical typeset- ditures for the first time. Planning for the 2015 ting to render it mathml compatible. Through conference is underway, and will be held May tight collaboration with the plug-in developer, 27–29 in Minneapolis, MN. the department is now positioned to begin the The annual election for officers included an process of maximizing our manuscript discov- electronic voting option for the fourth time in erability by utilizing the newly emerging tag- 2014. An error at Vanderbilt University’s IT ging standards JATS . department, which conducts the election as an The Information( )Systems department had independent vendor, caused 1,426 members an exciting year building and supporting the about 7.5 percent not to receive electronic bal- JOE Network system while keeping up with lots.( On August 12,) all members who did not its other duties. Attention to cyber-security has vote electronically were sent paper ballots and increased, and steps have been taken to conduct a postage-paid return envelope. The Secretary routine penetration testing and to investigate wrote to members who did not receive electronic software for frequent in-house testing at a rela- ballots to explain the error and encourage them tively low cost. In addition, regular testing with to return their paper ballots. He also sent remind- an outside vendor is being scheduled. In coor- ers to all other members who had not voted elec- dination with the AEA’s web hosting company, tronically. A final reminder was included in an Pair Networks, two servers were added for our e-mail blast in early September and was posted website, and the in-house file server and mail prominently on the AEA website. server were replaced. The increased capacity In 2014, 2,748 electronic ballots and 1,522 ensured that the JOE Network ran smoothly paper ballots were received for a total of during its peak period. 4,270— a decline of 37 percent from the 5,871 Looking toward an increased need in our web votes 5,032 electronic and 839 paper received capacity in 2014 due to planned enhancements in 2013.( The 2014 total exceeds the 4,120) votes of the JOE product and the ever-increasing received in 2011, which was the first year of elec- server load generated by meeting registration, tronic voting. In 2010, the final year of voting by we examined options for a significantly more paper only, 2,831 valid ballots were received. robust web service, which will be put into opera- The Secretary is considering voting solu- tion early in 2015. tions for 2015. Although a repeat of the error is The AEA was represented as an exhibitor at unlikely if the election was again conducted by meetings of the American Library Association, Vanderbilt, alternative election services under Special Libraries Association, Frankfurt consideration include VoteNet, Intelliscan, and Book Fair, International Federation of Library VoteNow. Keeping the election with a third- Associations, and, of course, ASSA. Much party provider is desirable from a best-practices attention was given to promoting the new JOE perspective. Network and EconLit. The AER successfully doubled its issue pro- The Spring 2015 meeting of the Executive duction and related deadlines in 2014 to meet Committee will be held on April 24 at a hotel a new, monthly publication schedule. Although near Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. the total number of pages did not double, the Report of the Treasurer Rousseau . Rousseau AER published 40 more papers than in 2013. The reviewed his written report,( which is) published excess AER backlog was eliminated, with only in the 2015 Papers & Proceedings. Detailed 263 total pages of backlog and only 164 pages financial information is available there and in the available to Prepress at the end of November Association’s audited financial results published 2014, an 88 percent reduction from the backlog annually in the June AER. The projected finan- of 2,225 pages in February 2012. cial results for 2014 show an operating surplus of Beginning in August 2014, articles have been $463 thousand. He presented the proposed 2015 assigned a DOI upon acceptance. This allows for budget, which is in Table 1 accompanying the citation much earlier in the production process. Treasurer’s report. It projects an operating sur- The Prepress Department is working to post plus of $256 thousand. Following a recommen- typeset articles on the web pages with forth- dation from the Budget and Finance Committee, coming articles as soon as they are available, it was VOTED to approve the 2015 budget. VOL. 105 NO. 5 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 697

Rousseau reviewed the AEA current portfo- investigate the disproportionately low num- lio allocations and the targets set by the Budget bers of women choosing undergraduate majors and Finance Committee in 2012. He reported in economics. The project includes an initia- that Budget and Finance had decided to retain tive called “The Challenge,” where economics these targets and rebalance accordingly at its departments are incentivized to take actions that meeting earlier in the day. He reported that might raise these numbers, and a possible plan net unrestricted assets on September 30, 2014 to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions were $32 million, 3.2 times budgeted expendi- with an RCT design. tures including ASSA expenditures for 2015. There being no further business to conduct, it The Association’s( target ratio of unrestricted) was VOTED to adjourn at 4:55 pm. assets to gross expenditures established by the Executive Committee is the range 1.5 to 2.5. New Business. Goldin reported that she had Respectfully submitted, received a grant from the Sloan Foundation to Peter L. Rousseau, Secretary