Best Practices for Improving the Professional Climate in Economics: Your Feedback Requested

October 18, 2019


To the members of the American Economic Association:

As part of the AEA's efforts to improve the professional climate in economics, the AEA Executive Committee in May 2019 charged a new task force with developing guidelines for best practices for economists in areas such as the conduct of research, serving as colleagues, teaching and mentoring students, and leading academic departments and other workplaces. That task force, chaired by Amanda Bayer (Swarthmore and the Federal Reserve Board), with members Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan (Maryland), Rohini Pande (Harvard), Cecilia Elena Rouse (Princeton), Anthony A. Smith, Jr. (Yale), Juan Carlos Suárez Serrato (Duke), and David W. Wilcox (Peterson Institute for International Economics), has now prepared a draft of proposed guidelines. The task force and the Executive Committee request feedback from the membership about the draft guidelines, especially suggestions that might make this resource more useful and effective. Members are also invited to promote the programs and initiatives they are working on, especially those with online descriptions to which the AEA website could link, as examples of the recommended practices.

The draft guidelines can be found here: https://www.aeaweb.org/resources/best-practices. Click on each of the main categories to see further information and to provide feedback. The task force asks that all feedback be submitted by Monday, November 18, so that revisions can be made in time for approval and release by the AEA Executive Committee in early 2020.

The Association thanks you for taking the time to review the draft guidelines and offer comments.

Ben Bernanke
President