Newsletter of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession Winter 2013 Published triennially by the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Women Visit CSWEP.org in the Economics Profession Navigating the Tenure Process Introduction The Tenure Process at The Tenure Process at Tenure Letters Should I Stay or Should I by Petra Todd Research Universities Liberal Arts Colleges by Rachel Croson Go Now? page 3 by Petra Todd page 4 by Cecilia Conrad page 7 page 9 by Donna K. Ginther page 10 Finkelstein wins John 2012 REPORT Bates Clark Medal of the COMMITTEE on the Amy Finkelstein, the 2008 winner of STATUS of WOMEN in the the Elaine Bennett Award, won the ECONOMICS PROFESSION John Bates Clark medal awarded bi- ennially by the American Econom- submitted by Marjorie B. McElroy, ics Association to the top economist CSWEP Chair under age 40. Finkelstein is the Ford The American Economic Associa- Professor of Economics at the Mas- tion created the Committee on the sachusetts Institute of Technology, Status of Women in the Economics from which she received her PhD Profession (CSWEP) and charged in Economics in 2001. She holds it to monitor the status of women an undergraduate degree in Govern- in the profession and to undertake CONTENTS ment from Harvard University and professional activities to improve 2012 CSWEP Report page 1, 15–24 an M.Phil in Economics from Oxford this status. In addition to surveying University, where she was a Marshall CSWEP Board, Directory page 2 all U.S. economics departments for Scholar. its annual statistical report, CSWEP From the Chair page 2, 26 Finkelstein works at the intersec- sponsors six competitive-entry paper Feature Articles: tion of public economics and health continued on page 15 Tenure Process pages 3–14 economics. The award committee Top Ten Tips page 14 recognized Professor Finkelstein for her ability to identify important and CSWEP Sponsored Sessions TOP TEN TIPS at the Midwest Economic policy-relevant research areas and FOR WRITING Association Meeting page 27 her careful and convincing empirical Calls for Papers and Abstracts page 27 work. The committee also noted her RESEARCH, TEACHING, & SERVICE sophisticated methods and impor- Session Summaries available online tant contributions to the literature on STATEMENTS Upcoming Regional insurance markets. PLEASE SEE PAGE 14 Meetings back cover continued on page 25 DIRECTORY OF CSWEP BOARD MEMBERS From the Chair Marjorie McElroy, Serena Ng CSWEP Chair Professor of Economics Professor of Economics Columbia University CSWEP at the ASSA/AEA Meetings, Duke University, Box 90097 1012 International Affairs January 2013 Durham, NC 27708-0097 Building (919) 660-1840 420 W 118th St. Some 65 old and new friends of CSWEP gathered FAX: (919) 684-8974 New York, NY 10027 Business Meeting to review CESWEP activities [email protected] (212) 854-5488 and the status of women in the profession and to FAX (212) 854-8059 celebrate the recipient of the Carolyn Shaw Bell Award, Catherine Eck- Susan Averett [email protected] [CSWEP East] el of Texas A&M. Given annually to an individual who has furthered Professor of Economics Petra Todd the status of women in the economics profession, Eckel presented Lafayette College Professor of Economics an inspiring view of mentoring. In addition, given biennially for out- Easton, PA 18042 McNeil 160 standing research by a woman near the beginning of her career, this (610) 330-5307 University of Pennsylvania year the Bennett Prize was awarded to Anna Mikusheva of MIT. Three FAX (610) 330-5715 3718 Locust Walk [email protected] Philadelphia, PA 19104 of the six winners to date have gone on to win the Clark Medal. Miku- CSWEP East: http://www.iona. (215) 898-4084 sheva will receive her prize at the 2014 Business Meeting. edu/eea/ FAX (215) 573-2057 The 2013 AEA Meeting in San Diego saw the first CSWEP Cecilia Conrad [email protected] Mentoring Breakfast. Thirty senior women mentors and the first 110 Vice President and Dean junior economists who applied gathered for a modest breakfast and a Pomona College Shelly White-Means [CSWEP South] rich networking experience. A meet and greet affair, participants could 425 N. College Avenue, #211 pick a table associated with a topic such as research, handling ref- Claremont, CA 91711 Professor of Economics (909) 621-8328 University of Tennessee eree reports, teaching, grants, work-life balance or they could enter FAX: (909) 621-8576 Suite 205N Johnson Building more open-ended discussions. Many had their immediate questions [email protected] 847 Monroe Avenue answered. Others initiated peer-to-peer or junior-senior mentoring re- Memphis, TN 38163 Linda Goldberg (901) 448-7666 lationships. The discussions went on long after the breakfast officially Vice President of International [email protected] ended. Congratulations to Linda Goldberg and Terra McKinnish for Research creating and organizing this new way to mentor. Look for repeats at International Research Function Anne Winkler future AEA meetings. [CSWEP Midwest] Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Executive Committee of the AEA continued to endorse the Ce- 33 Liberty Street Professor of Economics New York, NY 10045 University of Missouri–St. Louis MENT national and regional mentoring workshops by continuing (212) 720-2836 One University Boulevard funding for the workshop organizers through 2014. The sentiment FAX: (212) 20-6831 St. Louis, MO 63121 of the Executive Committee favored expanding these workshops and [email protected] (314) 516-5563 work is underway to find a feasible way to do so. FAX (314) 516-5352 Jennifer Imazeki [email protected] The Executive Committee of the AEA continued to endorse the Ce- [CSWEP West] CSWEP Midwest: http://web. MENT national and regional mentoring workshops by continuing Associate Professor of Economics grinnell.edu/mea/ funding for the workshop organizers. The sentiment of the Executive San Diego State University Committee favored expanding these workshops and work is underway 5500 Camponile Drive Madeline Zavodny, to find a feasible way to do so. San Diego, CA 92187 Newsletter Oversight (619) 867-4408 Editor As usual, competitive submissions to CSWEP generated six lively FAX (619) 594-5062 Professor of Economics AEA paper sessions, three on gender-related issues organized by Su- [email protected] Agnes Scott College san Averett and Kevin Lang and three on health organized by Frank CSWEP West: http://www.weain- 141 E. College Ave. Sloan and Shelley White-Means. After reviews, eight of these 24 pa- ternational.org/ Decatur, GA 30030 pers were selected for publication and are forthcoming in the Papers Kevin Lang, at large (404) 471-6377 [email protected] and Proceedings issue of the AER in May 2013. Professor of Economics Looking forward to the 2014 ASSA/AEA Meetings in Philadel- Boston University, Room 302A Boston, MA 02215 phia, CSWEP will organize three sessions on gender-related topics (617) 353-5694 and three sessions on structural econometrics. Look for the AEA 2013 FAX: (617) 353-4449 call for papers in this Newsletter, in the summer Journal of Economic [email protected] NEWSLETTER STAFF continued on page 26 Terra McKinnish, CeMENT Marjorie McElroy, Editor Associate Professor of Economics Petra Todd, Co-editor University of Colorado What is CSWEP? Boulder, CO 80309 Helen Kalevas, Assistant Editor CSWEP (the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession) is a stand- (303) 492-6770 Madeline Zavodny, Oversight ing committee of the AEA (American Economics Association). It was founded in 1971 to FAX (303) 492-8960 Editor monitor the position of women in the economics profession and to undertake activities Leda Black, Graphic Designer to improve that position. Our thrice yearly newsletters are one of those activities. See our [email protected] website at www.cswep.org for more information on what we are doing. 2 CSWEP Newsletter Winter 2013 Feature Articles Navigating the Tenure Process Introduction by Petra Todd, University of Pennsylvania he theme of the articles in this CSWEP newsletter is navigating the tenure process at different kinds of institutions. The articles describe Thow the process works and offer tips on steps that a junior faculty member can take to maximize the chances of a favorable outcome. One ar- ticle also considers the relative benefits of going on the market during the tenure-track period. In “The Tenure Process at Research Universities,” researchers even when you may be the only person I provide an overview of how the tenure process in your department working in your field, and how to works at research-oriented institutions. The ar- continually improve your teaching skills. ticle describes how the process starts, the people Most institutions require that people who come involved, the different elements of the dossier, the up for tenure get so-called tenure letters from ex- different types of evaluation criteria, and the weight ternal evaluators. Although it may seem that this based on different criteria. With multiple demands part of the tenure process is completely uncontrol- on a junior faculty member’s time, it can be diffi- lable, given that the evaluators are not usually from cult to decide where best to allocate effort in a way the candidate’s institution and most are not chosen that ultimately will support a case for tenure. This by the candidate, there are in fact several strategies article provides guidance as to how to divide your that junior faculty can pursue during the time lead- time between activities, such as research, teaching, ing up to tenure. Rachel Croson discusses ways of applying for grants, attending conferences, giving getting senior people to know about you and your seminars, and advising students and where to con- work. She explains the importance of thinking about centrate your efforts early in your career.