AEA Papers and Proceedings 2019, 109: 603–611 https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.109.603

Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Committee Atlanta, GA January 3, 2019

The second meeting of the 2018 Executive The minutes of the April 20, 2018 meeting were Committee was called to order by President approved as written. at 10:03 am on January 3, 2019 in Room M103–M105 of the Atlanta Report on the Annual Meetings Rousseau Marriott Marquis. Members present were: and Loftis .—Rousseau reviewed the( schedule Susan Athey, Ben Bernanke, Olivier Blanchard, of future )meetings: San Diego, January 3–5, Nicholas Bloom, John Campbell, Steven 2020 Friday, Saturday, and Sunday ; Chicago, Durlauf, , , Simon January( 3–5, 2021 Sunday, Monday,) and Gilchrist, Pinelopi Goldberg, Johannes Hörner, Tuesday ; , January( 7–9, 2022 Friday, Hilary Hoynes, Adriana Lleras-Muney, Saturday,) and Sunday ; New Orleans, January( Alexandre Mas, Enrico Moretti, Alvin Roth, 6–8, 2023 Friday, Saturday,) and Sunday ; San Peter Rousseau, Matthew Shapiro, Robert Antonio, January( 5–7, 2024 Friday, Saturday,) Shiller, and Betsey Stevenson. Also attending and Sunday ; San Francisco, January( 3–5, 2025 were: , newly elected President- Friday, Saturday,) and Sunday ; Philadelphia, Elect; Lawrence Katz and David Romer, newly January( 3–5, 2026 Saturday,) Sunday, and elected Vice-Presidents; and Martha Bailey Monday ; and Washington,( DC, January 3–5, and Susanto Basu, newly elected members. 2027 Sunday,) Monday, and Tuesday . Loftis Attending parts of the meeting to give reports reported( that contracting with Washington) for were: Shelly Lundberg and , 2027 had been completed in the summer of 2018. Chair and incoming Chair of the Committee Registration on December 10 for Atlanta on the Status of Women in the was 11,174, 7.3 percent lower than the 12,050 Profession CSWEP ; Ebonya Washington and registered on the same date for Philadelphia Gary Hoover,( Co-Chairs) of the Committee on in 2018, lower than the 11,856 registered for the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Chicago 2017 and the 12,018 for San Francisco Profession; Phillip Swagel and Katherine 2016 , but( about) the same as the 11,163 regis- Smith, Chair and Washington Representative tered( )for Boston 2015 and above the 10,828 of the Committee on Government Relations; for Philadelphia 2014( .) Final registration num- John Haltiwanger, Chair of the Committee bers were 13,457( for )Philadelphia, 13,465 for on Economic Statistics; , Chicago, 13,335 for San Francisco, 12,859 for Chair of the Committee on Equity, Diversity, Boston, and 12,218 for Philadelphia. There were and Professional Conduct; Alan Auerbach 7,197 peak room nights booked for Atlanta on by phone , Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee December 10, 2018, 7,261 for Philadelphia, to( Appoint) a New Editor for the American 7,157 for Chicago, 8,463 for San Francisco, Economic Journal: Economic Policy; and Lars 7,320 for Boston, and 7,246 for Philadelphia on Vilhuber, AEA Data Editor. General Counsel these dates in 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014. Terry Calvani and staff members Michelle To reduce excess demand for the headquar- DeBlasi, Elizabeth Braunstein, Barbara Fiser, ters hotel, a premium of $50 per night was once Gwyn Loftis, Kelly Markel, Steve Stelling, Jane again charged for rooms there, which was used Voros, and Dawn Wallhausen also attended. to defray the costs of registration. Blanchard welcomed the newly elected mem- bers of the 2019 Executive Committee and Report of the Ad Hoc Search Committee for a noted that this was the final meeting for Athey, New Editor of the American Economic Journal: Campbell, Goldberg, Hoynes, and Shiller. He Economic Policy Auerbach .—Blanchard thanked the outgoing members for their service. appointed a search committee( in) August 2018 603 604 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 2019 to recommend a replacement for Matthew to initial three-year terms and to re-appoint Shapiro, who would be stepping down as Editor Timothy Cogley to a third and final three-year of AEJ: Policy in December 2019. Auerbach, term on the Board of Editors of AEJ: Macro Chair of the search committee consisting also ending in December 2021. Acting on Hörner’s of Mark Duggan, Michael Greenstone,( Kathleen recommendation, it was VOTED to appoint McGarry, Valerie Ramey, and Jonathan Alexander Wolitzsky to an initial three-year term Skinner , described the process the committee and to re-appoint Guillaume Frechette to a sec- members) used to identify and screen prospects ond three-year term on the Board of Editors of to succeed Shapiro, including requesting nomi- AEJ: Micro ending in December 2021. Acting nations from the AEA membership. After dis- on Shapiro’s recommendation, it was VOTED cussion, it was VOTED to appoint Erzo Luttmer to appoint Jeffrey Clemens, Joseph Doyle, Kate to a three-year term as Editor effective January Ho, and Melissa Kearney to initial three-year 1, 2020. terms and to re-appoint Mark Duggan to a sec- ond three-year term on the Board of Editors of Report of the Committee on Editorial AEJ: Policy ending in December 2021. Appointments Hoynes .—Hoynes reported that several editorial( appointments) approved by Report of the Data Editor Vilhuber .— the committee were ready for action. Upon the Vilhuber reported that work on( a new )and committee’s recommendation, it was VOTED improved “Data and Code Availability Policy” to re-appoint Steven Durlauf to a third and is progressing, and that he is working selectively final three-year term as Editor of theJournal with a few journal editors on pre-publication of Economic Literature starting in July 2019 assessments. He announced that the new “AEA and ending in June 2022. Acting on Duflo’s Data and Code Depository” will be available recommendation, it was VOTED to appoint to new submissions in the second quarter of , Ned Augenblick, Eduardo 2019 and that historical submissions would be Azevedo, Georgy Egorov, Patrick Francois, migrated to the depository in the third quarter. Ryan Oprea, Juan Ortner, Bruno Strulovici, Pre-acceptance verification of data and pro- and Nico Voigtlander to initial three-year grams will be extended to other AEA journals terms on the Board of Editors of the American over the course of 2019. A discussion ensued Economic Review ending in December 2021, about the appropriate time in the review pro- and to re-appoint Heski Bar-Isaac, Alessandra cess when verification of data and code would Casella, John Van Reenen, and Tomasz occur, with some advocating for review imme- Strzalecki to second three-year terms ending diately prior to acceptance while others indi- in March 2022, Charles Sprenger to a second cated that verification at the time of a revise and three-year term ending in December 2022, resubmit decision might be more appropriate. and Ariel Burstein, Sylvain Chassang, Brian Vilhuber indicated that he continues to evaluate Knight, and Philip Oreopoulos to third and final this with the editors. It was then VOTED that three-year terms ending in December 2021. all historical archives shall be licensed under a Acting on Moretti’s recommendation, it was mixed open-source license, which represents a VOTED to appoint Heidi Williams to an ini- change to the Association’s overall policy as to tial three-year term as Coeditor of the Journal intellectual property. It was also VOTED that of Economic Perspectives, to appoint Janice all future supplements in the hosted repository Eberly and David Figlio to initial three-year will have copyright to the authors rather than terms as Associate Editors, and to re-appoint to the Association, will have a requirement to Dora Costa to a second and final three-year make the relevant databases available under term as Associate Editor ending in December some open license sufficient for replication, and 2021. Acting on Mas’ recommendation, it was that all code be available under an open-source VOTED to appoint Neale Mahoney to an ini- license sufficient to allow for replication. tial three-year term as Coeditor of AEJ: Applied ending in December 2021. Acting on Glichrist’s Report on Job Openings for Economists and recommendation, it was VOTED to appoint JOE Network Rousseau .—Rousseau reviewed Cristina Arellano, Jesus Fernandez-Villaverde, the written report( of the )Director of JOE, pub- Joseph Kaboski, and Stephanie Schmitt-Grohe lished in the 2019 Supplemental Proceedings. VOL. 109 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 605

The number of new jobs listed increased by 3.4 which some members expressed concerns about percent in 2018, and there were 5,065 active job how and when in a project’s life the randomiza- candidates and 14,315 approved letter writers tion would occur, the transition costs that might enrolled in the JOE Network on December 1. be imposed on authors not conforming to ran- The system had also fulfilled 153,203 reference dom ordering, and the possibility of manipula- requests, a slight decrease from the 158,362 ful- tion by authors, while others expanded upon the fillments over the same period in 2017. Both job merits of random ordering. It was then VOTED preference signaling and the March job scram- to accept the random order proposal as written. ble completed their thirteenth years in 2018. Signaling allows job candidates to indicate a Reports of the Journal Editors.— Reporting special interest in two job vacancies in early for Duflo, Rousseau noted that the AER will December. In 2018, 1,928 job candidates sent a publish a regular May issue starting in 2019 now total of 3,746 signals of interest to 690 employ- that the annual AEA Papers and Proceedings ers. The scramble helps to match job candidates is being published separately from the AER. still available in March with positions still open Finkelstein reported that AER: Insights launched at that time. There were 709 job candidates and in December 2017 had received more than 650 83 jobs listed in the 2018 scramble. submissions in its first year, with 23 articles now forthcoming or conditionally accepted. She Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Certified announced that the first issue, containing papers Random Ordering Lleras-Muney .—Lleras- drawing from a variety of topics and methodolo- Muney reported that (the Ad Hoc Committee) gies, will be published in June 2019, and that had considered concerns in regard to imple- a formal mechanism had been implemented menting an option for the random-ordering through which reports and other editorial mate- of author names in articles published in the rials associated with rejected manuscripts could Association’s journals. She presented a revised be passed to the AEJ editors for consideration. proposal including that: 1 every journal of the Durlauf reported that the Journal of Economic American Economic Association( ) will permit Literature had published 32 manuscripts in the publication of papers with a random order- 2018, including 17 papers and 15 full length ing of coauthors, and that a dedicated symbol, book reviews, and thanked the members of his to be used between author names, will appear in editorial board for their outstanding service. the title, the running head, all tables of contents, Moretti reported that downloads of articles pub- and the suggested bibliographic citation; 2 an lished in the Journal of Economic Perspectives AEA web page will carry a statement that( ) the remain strong, and that the journal is promot- symbol indicates that the names appear in uni- ing awareness of how its articles could be used form random order; 3 the aforementioned web in the teaching of economics through develop- page will contain an (online) application that per- ment of a new web page. Shapiro reported that mits authors to randomize their name order, and the AEJ: Policy received more than 750 submis- it can then return a citation for author use, and sions in 2018 and was preparing to increase the will archive all previous results from using that number of papers published. He noted that the application; 4 other than provide this service, journal’s acceptance rate was approaching the no journal will( ) need to “certify” or “guarantee” AER’s level of selectivity. Gilchrist reported that the randomization; 5 It is understood that all submissions to AEJ: Macro had grown to 475 authors signal their consent( ) to their chosen name in 2018, slightly more than in the year before. order by signing, as usual, separate copyright Hörner reported that submissions to AEJ: Micro transfer agreements which list the full title of had grown by 3 percent in 2018 and that submis- the paper and the author names; 6 whether the sions were continuing to get longer in length. He authors choose to randomize or not( ) is, of course, added that average decision times were longer left entirely to them; 7 the journal style sheet in 2018 and that efforts were in place to rem- will specify rules about( )how the symbol will be edy this. The complete annual reports of the used; and 8 that the AEA commits to revisit Association’s eight journals appear in the 2019 and re-examine( ) the question of random order if Supplemental Proceedings. there is sizable take-up of the new convention Rousseau reported that the Budget and in the next few years. A discussion followed in Finance Committee had discussed the 606 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 2019

Association’s operating deficits earlier in the need to be made about renewing that contract day and was considering an increase in mem- or otherwise seeking a new partner for the pro- ber submission fees to the journals from $100 gram. Washington noted the success of a “boot to $200, with half of the fee returned on desk camp” for minority job candidates conducted rejections which are currently refunded in full. with Marie Mora at Texas A&M University in It is projected that this change would generate as October, which matched 12 candidates with much as $500,000 annually in revenue. A dis- mentors to assist them through the job market cussion followed during which it was noted that process. She also noted that members could the journals are subsidized at a high rate and consult CSMGEP’s web page for a list of minor- that current refereeing and editorial costs are not ity candidates on the market each year along covered by submission fees. Others expressed with their professional profiles and materials. concern about the possible effects of higher sub- It was then VOTED to approve an additional mission fees in deterring quality submissions $18,850 across two years to extend access to and asked whether there were possibilities for the Stata Statistical Software and vouchers to generating revenue by other means. It was also allow multiple attempts at the Graduate Record noted that the refunding of submission fees for Examination for participants in the Summer desk rejects to some extent reduces the impact Programs. of these decisions when they must be made. Cancellation of referee payments altogether was Report of the Committee on the Status of also suggested as a way of reducing costs. It was Women in the Economics Profession CSWEP then VOTED to defer discussion of increased Chevalier and Lundberg .—Lundberg( referred) manuscript submission fees until April 2019. the( Executive Committee )to the CSWEP annual report, published in the 2019 Supplemental Report of the Committee on the Status of Proceedings, for details of the Committee’s Minority Groups in the Economics Profession activities. She offered the Committee’s sup- CSMGEP .— Hoover and Washington . port for recent initiatives, including the forma- Washington( ) referred( the Executive Committee) tion of the Committee on Equity, Diversity, and to the CSMGEP annual report, published Professional Conduct and the fielding of the in the 2019 Supplemental Proceedings, for Survey on Professional Climate in Economics, details of the Committee’s activities. She then and expressed a continued interest in CSWEP described CSMGEP’s three primary activities: involvement in these activities going forward. the Summer Economics Fellows Program joint She noted that three mentoring breakfasts were with CSWEP designed to place minority PhD planned for the Atlanta meeting, and a mentoring students and assistant professors into positions program for doctoral students had been arranged at government agencies, which worked with for 42 participants out of more than 180 applica- 25 participants five from minority groups tions, and would take place immediately after in 2018; the Mentoring( Program for graduate) the annual meeting. She added that a long-term students sponsored by the National Science evaluation of CSWEP’s mentoring programs Foundation, which had about 60 participants in was scheduled for 2019, and that shorter term 2018; and the Summer Training Program spon- evaluations continue to indicate that these pro- sored by the AEA in conjunction with Michigan grams are successful in advancing women in the State University. Washington noted that these profession. She announced that the mentoring activities had operated well in 2018 and that programs for non-doctoral participants, which the Summer Training Program appears to be had taken place every other year as part of the successful in helping students go on to pursue CSWEP regional workshops, would now be held degrees and careers in economics. She added at the same time as the doctoral sessions at the that MSU had completed the third of a five-year national workshop after ASSA. She added that commitment to run the program at a total cost of participation in CSWEP’s regional workshops just over $1 million per year, to which the AEA was rising and that the focus of these work- contributes $300,000. Washington reminded shops is generally on professional development. the Executive Committee that the contract with CSWEP published three issues of its newsletter MSU to provide the Summer Program is set in 2018, and will continue to address issues of to expire after 2020 and that a decision would diversity, professional development, and career VOL. 109 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 607 management as themes going forward. Lundberg 2018. These included discussions, along with then reported that representation of women at the AEA’s Committee on Economic Statistics, the entry levels in economics remains stagnant, on how the proposed question on Citizenship that representation is lower in departments with would impact the accuracy of the 2020 Census, higher research intensity, and that the percent- and the joint submission of a formal com- age of women receiving academic promotions ment to the Commerce Department. The CGR remains lower than that of men and has not also contributed to a Statement on Principles improved over the past decade. She also noted of Economic Measurement, which was later that economics has trailed other STEM fields in approved by the Executive Committee and high- progressing on these dimensions, and that this lights for government officials and the public the should be of concern to the Association gener- scientific principles and challenges involved in ally. Chevalier announced that CSWEP would devising accurate economic statistics. Together be sponsoring sessions on gender, economic with the Committee on Economic Statistics, the theory, and economic history at this year’s AEA CGR also issued a statement in support for the meetings, and that these sessions continue to proposal to move the Bureau of Labor Statistics be an important opportunity for junior women from the Department of Labor to the Department to present their ideas in a public forum. She of Commerce due to the “benefits to data users encouraged more senior economists to support of closer integration between BLS and the other these sessions by attending and by agreeing to major economic statistics agencies.” The CGR discuss papers when asked. She noted that there also co-signed a letter, jointly with the AEA would be a joint panel with CSMGEP about Committee on Economic Statistics, to Senate the use of Twitter and other social media in and House agricultural appropriators and autho- economics, and encouraged members to attend rizing committee leadership, outlining the the CSWEP Business Meeting and Awards expected consequences for statistical quality and Ceremony on January 4, where Rohini Pande integrity of the USDA Secretary’s announced would receive the Carolyn Shaw Bell Award and decision to shift the Economic Research Service would receive the Elaine Bennett from under its Research and Education mission Research Prize. area to the Secretary’s Office, and to move the It was then VOTED to approve a budget of majority of the agency’s staff to outside the $179,283.07 to support the Committee’s work in Washington, DC National Capitol Area. The 2019. The additional funding, up from a budget CGR also organized a panel session on health of $161,098 in 2018, is expected to cover salary policy for the 2019 ASSA Meetings and a ses- and benefits for the Committee’s administrative sion on Tax Policy at the 2018 ASSA meetings. assistant and to fund a one-time archival proj- ect of historical data collected from economics Report of the Committee on Economic departments over the years. Statistics AEAStat Haltiwanger .—Halti- wanger referred( to his) written( report, )published Report of the Committee on Government in the 2019 Supplemental Proceedings. He noted Relations CGR Swagel .—Swagel referred that AEAStat works closely with the CGR to to his written( report,) ( published) in the 2019 coordinate outreach and educational activities in Supplemental Proceedings. He explained that support of economic statistics. The Committee the CGR was established in 2009 to represent is concerned with datasets and statistical agen- the interests of the economics profession in cies that are relevant to the research interests Washington, DC and other locations around the of the Association’s members, and its activities country, and that a description of the Committee’s are kept consistent with the Association’s char- primary activities can be found on its website. ter by not taking positions on questions of eco- He noted that, as true of the Association gener- nomic policy or any partisan matter. In addition ally, the Committee does not take positions on to the joint activities with the CGR outlined by questions of economic policy or any partisan Swagel, Haltiwanger reported that he and Kitty matter. He reported that the Committee met by Smith Evans had met with the Chief Economist phone nine times in 2018 and that policy discus- of the Department of Labor, and that Evans sions surrounding statistical issues were a com- and Andrew Reamer were members of a small mon thread across the Committee’s activities in group that met with the White House Office 608 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 2019 of Management and Budget in advance of the that were larger than expected. Planning for the Administration’s 2020 appropriations proposal, 2019 conference is underway. It will be held about the value of the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 29–31 in St. Louis, Missouri. BLS and how the Association’s members use its( statistical) releases. He reported that, in con- Report of the Committee on Equity, Diversity, junction with the Consortium of Social Science and Professional Conduct Bertrand .— Association’s COSSA and other groups, Bertrand referred to the Committee’s( written) Evans and others( associated) with the AEAStat report, published in the 2019 Supplemental made about 20 visits to the Hill to speak with Proceedings, and noted that its on-going charge Congressional staff about the value of social is to follow up on the recommendations listed in science, economics, and federal statistics gener- the April 2018 report of the Ad Hoc Committee ally, or about the value of the BLS, the Census on the Professional Climate in Economics. To Bureau, or Economic Research Service specifi- this end, she reported that the Committee had cally. The Committee also facilitated collabora- partnered with NORC at the University of tion of member John Cawley with a professional Chicago to design and field a survey to assess writer to develop an opinion piece, published the climate in the economics profession, and in The Hill, on the need to keep politics out of directed the Executive Committee to a copy of the 2020 Census. Haltiwanger noted that the that survey. She noted that while the commit- Committee had hosted a working lunch at the tee initially had a strong preference for trying 2018 Annual ASSA Meeting on measurement to maximize the response rate in a representa- of automation and its implications for the labor tive and incentivized subsample of the AEA force, and that a total of 25 economist experts membership, NORC had recommended against on that subject had attended what turned out to this in favor of surveying the entire member- be a lively and productive discussion. AEAStat ship because the Association was uncomfort- also organized a Subcommittee on Private Data able with reaching out through phone calls and to be advisory to Lars Vilhuber, the AEA Data physical mailings, and preferred to limit the Editor, to examine the feasibility of developing number of reminders sent out. To reach out to templates for data use agreements and to facili- the more marginalized members of the profes- tate interactions of economic researchers with sion, it was decided to send the survey to all private sector data providers. individuals who had been members at any point over the previous nine years 45,157 individu- Report of the Committee on Economic als . It was also communicated( that economists Education CEE Rousseau .—Rousseau could) participate in the survey even if they had referred the Executive( ) Committee( )to KimMarie not been AEA members over the past nine years McGoldrick’s written report, published in the if they became members before December 1, 2019 Supplemental Proceedings. Rousseau noted 2018, which led to 270 additional eligible indi- that the eighth AEA National Conference on viduals. Bertrand reported that, after a pilot Teaching and Research in Economic Education soft launch, the survey had been sent to( these) was held in San Antonio, Texas on May 30–June current and former members on November 27 1, 2018, and that in addition to plenary sessions with a closing date of January 31, and had been featuring talks by Sandra Black, Catherine sent to new members on December 13 with a Eckel, and Dan Hamermesh, 73 papers were closing date of February 28. Bertrand reported presented at 20 paper sessions, 14 people partic- that 6,008 individuals 13.4 percent had com- ipated in three panel discussions, and 10 people pleted the survey as of January( 3, and) that 1,929 comprised the staff at four practicum work- 4.2 percent had started but not completed shops. Authors were invited to submit revised it.( She added) that a full report on the survey papers to the Journal of Economic Education, results would be prepared for the April meet- where they would be peer reviewed to permit ing of the Executive Committee, and would be timely publication of the accepted papers in a subsequently released to the public. Bertrand 2019 issue. With 280 registrants and a registra- also noted that the Committee was in discus- tion fee of $125, a $35,000 subsidy from the sions with the providers of a reporting platform Association was insufficient to cover expenses that would allow victims of sexual harassment by $30,000, largely due to audio-visual expenses to file a time-stamped report that can be linked VOL. 109 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 609 to a directory of reported offenders. It was noted which would be video-recorded, and expressed that the estimated cost of the service was very his appreciation for their service. He described high, as it would include options counseling to some of the program highlights, including victims, and that the Committee, along with the Richard T. Ely lecture to be delivered by Rousseau, should continue discussions with the David Autor and the Nobel luncheon in honor provider and explore the possibility of secur- of . He also described a high ing similar services from alternative providers. profile session where the current chair of the Options counselors would inform victims, in the Federal Reserve Board Jerome Powell would case of multiple reports of the same perpetra- join his two immediate( predecessors ) Yellen tor, about the range of options available to them and Bernanke to discuss Federal Reserve( going forward, such as reaching out to Title IX policy past, present,) and future. Bernanke also coordinators, Human Resources departments, explained that an expanded poster session for- law enforcement and or the press. mat would allow for the display of more than Bertrand reported that/ once the climate survey 350 posters throughout the meeting. is completed, and informed by the results of that survey, the committee will consider the following The 2020 Program Yellen .—Yellen other recommendations of the Ad Hoc commit- announced that the 2020 Call for( Papers) encour- tee, including the development and dissemina- ages submissions covering a wide array of topics tion of best practices guidelines for reducing bias in economics, and that she especially encour- in economists’ professional conduct, and playing ages proposals on policy-relevant topics. a more active role in drawing a broader range of the population into the study of economics Report of the Secretary Rousseau .— by supporting pipeline activities and improving Rousseau reported on Executive( Committee) pedagogy and curricula. The committee is also actions taken since the April 2018 meeting. committed to increasing public understanding Acting on Duflo’s recommendation and fol- of economics research and principles, consider- lowing approval by the Advisory Committee ing requests for funding of research projects that on Editorial Appointments, it was VOTED on evaluate the impact of various programs and pro- July 6, 2018 to appoint and cedures on equality of opportunities and fairness Stefanie Stancheva to initial three-year terms on of treatment of underrepresented groups, as well the Board of Editors of the American Economic as to initiatives that aim to increase the profes- Review, and it was VOTED on October 10, 2018 sion’s outreach to underrepresented groups. It to appoint Pierre Olivier Gourinchas to an ini- will also consider requests for the use of AEA tial three-year term as Coeditor, with all terms data to investigate bias in the profession, and to begin immediately. potentially decide on funding for such projects. It was VOTED on October 15, 2018 to issue Bertrand noted that the committee would appre- the following statement to the membership and ciate some guidance with regard to the final item, to post it on the Association’s website: as there are three types of data to which the AEA has access that might be very useful to investi- It has come to our attention that one of the gate bias in the profession: journals data, includ- recently elected candidates for office of the ing referee reports, editors’ letters and editorial American Economic Association is the sub- decisions; job market data, including recommen- ject of allegations, being accused of creat- ing a hostile work environment. Neither the dation letters; and conferences data on submis- Nominating Committee, nor the Executive sions and their handling. After some discussion it Committee knew of such allegations at the was determined that access to these items, which time of nomination. We also believe that in some cases carry implicit and explicit cove- few of the members knew of the allegations nants of confidentiality to those involved, would at the time of the election. be best taken up at a future meeting when these implications could be clarified. We take such allegations seriously, but they are, at this point, just ­allegations. While The 2019 Program Bernanke .—Bernanke the home institution will neither deny nor reported that the 2019( Program) Committee confirm the existence of an investigation, had formed an exciting set of sessions, many of we understand that one is underway, and 610 AEA PAPERS AND PROCEEDINGS MAY 2019

may come to some conclusions in the not could be returned by prepaid mail or individuals too distant future. We have decided that, could use a code to sign on and vote electroni- before proceeding further, we should wait cally. After the initial electronic invitation to for those conclusions, if they are made vote, five reminders were sent to members who public and they come within a reasonable amount of time. If not, we shall reexamine had not voted or chosen to opt out. Intelliscan our position. received 6,650 electronic ballots, 1,755 elec- tronic ballots via paper ballot code, and 768 One conclusion we already draw is that, paper ballots by regular mail for a total of 9,173. in the future, we shall ask potential nomi- This represents a 43.8 percent participation rate nees if they are the subject of an investi- among the 20,923 eligible members and an gation. This will help avoid such situations increase of 1.3 percent compared to 2017. going forward. The web team launched in September 2018 the EconSpark discussion forum, a new mes- Following Roland Fryer’s resignation from sage board created to provide a place for the Executive Committee and prior to his taking members and other registered users to share office, it was VOTED on December 19, 2018 to information relevant to economics. As of mid- accept the motion “Being duly nominated, stand- November, the forum had accumulated approx- ing for election, and certified by the Secretary imately 1,700 registered participants and over as receiving the next highest number of votes for 2,800 followers on Twitter, and both are grow- the position from the membership, the Executive ing daily. The EconTrack job market informa- Committee approves the ascension of Susanto tion board launched shortly after EconSpark, Basu to a three-year term as an elected, voting and allows employers to post information about member of the Executive Committee commenc- their ongoing hiring processes for job candi- ing at the close of the 2019 Annual Meeting.” dates. All US economics departments were A significant change in the Association’s invited to sign up for administrative access, dues structure occurred in 2012, when default and can create a post for each job opening membership status changed from including containing the job title, URL for the job list- the three legacy print journals AER, JEL, ing, and other optional information such as JEL and JEP to electronic-only access (to all of the classifications, brief description, etc. As the Association’s) journals. Regular membership hiring season progresses, these administrators dues were reduced at that time to $20, $30, and are updating the other optional fields such as $40, depending on income. Dues will rise in whether they will be interviewing at the Annual 2019 to $22, $32, and $42 by vote of the Budget Meeting, and the dates of interview invitations, and Finance Committee and as permitted by campus visits, and offers. The AEA sends occa- the bylaws. The default electronic-only option sional reminder emails at milestone moments in was taken by 79 percent of new and renewing the job cycle. members in 2018 as of November 30, up from JOE development for 2018 included the ongo- 76 percent in 2017, 74 percent in 2016, 71 per- ing update of many of the interfaces. New fea- cent in 2015, 66 percent in 2014, 61 percent in tures for 2018 include a demographic summary 2013, and 55 percent in 2012. Paid memberships of applicant data for reporting purposes and stand at 20,502 as of November 30, an increase additional file management options for JOE can- of 0.2 percent over 2017, and 23.6 percent higher didates. A major overhaul of the JOE applica- since the end of 2011 when the change began to tion packet and process queuing functions was phase in. also completed. Job Market Signaling for the The annual election of officers included an 2018–2019 job market opened November 15, and electronic voting option for the eighth time signals were sent to employers on November 30. in 2018. The Association contracted with The AEA’s social media presence continues Intelliscan, Inc., a fully managed independent to grow and serves to direct increased traffic to elections service provider to conduct the elec- the website and its content. The Twitter feed tions. Electronic voting opened on August 1 grew from over 15,000 recipients in 2017 to and remained open through September 30. nearly 21,000 in 2018, and the Facebook page Paper ballots were sent to members who had not now has over 5,000 followers up from 1,885 at voted or opted out by August 13. Paper ballots the end of 2017 . ( ) VOL. 109 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 611

Rousseau announced that the Association’s Proceedings. Detailed financial informa- Director of Publications Services, Jane Voros, tion is available there and in the Association’s will be retiring in April 2019 after 7 years in audited financial results published annually in the position and 14 years of service with the the June AER. The projected financial results Association. Ms. Voros has been instrumental in for 2018 show an expected operating deficit of bringing the Pittsburgh operation to its current $1.7 million. He presented the proposed 2019 level of high efficiency, overseeing the journals, budget, which is in Table 1 accompanying the EconLit, IT initiatives and operations, personnel Treasurer’s report. It projects an operating defi- matters, and our external presence with publish- cit of $2.4 million, primarily due to increased ing groups around the world. He thanked Ms. publication expenses and the expansion of the Voros on behalf of the Association for her lead- AEA programs and activities. Following a rec- ership and service. Rousseau also announced ommendation from the Budget and Finance that Elizabeth Braunstein, Associate Director Committee, it was VOTED to approve the 2019 for EconLit and Information Systems, has budget. agreed to assume the Directorship with a strong Rousseau reviewed the Association’s current commitment to continue moving the Pittsburgh portfolio allocations and the targets set by the operation forward. He noted that Ms. Braunstein Budget and Finance Committee in 2017. He is the Association’s longest-standing employee, reported that Budget and Finance had decided with 31 years of full-time service, and that she at its meeting earlier in the day to retain these is an IT expert with knowledge and experience targets but not to rebalance at this time as the in every aspect of operations in the publications current allocations were very close to those tar- office. gets. He reported that net unrestricted assets Rousseau noted that the Spring 2019 meet- on September 30, 2018 were $40.6 million, ing of the Executive Committee would be held three times budgeted expenditures for 2019. on April 26 at a hotel near Chicago’s O’Hare The Association’s target ratio of unrestricted Airport. It is expected to run from 10:00 am assets to gross expenditures established by the through 5:00 pm, and that the Budget and Executive Committee is the range 1.5 to 2.5. Finance Committee would meet at 8:00 am on There being no further business to conduct, it that day. was VOTED to adjourn at 3:55 pm.

Report of the Treasurer Rousseau .— Rousseau reviewed his written (report, which) Respectfully submitted, is published in the 2019 AEA Papers and Peter L. Rousseau, Secretary