A Plea for a Pluralistic and Rigorous Economics

Thomas Palley makes some assertions about "The Knowledge Police in Economics" (via Mark Thoma). One of the commentators on Mark Thoma's post points out some brouhaha over the American Economic Association (AEA) policy on common affirmative action language in job ads.

When encountering such contretemps, I try to recall that they are not unique in the recent history of the AEA. In this post, I recall some AEA committees I think relevant to the discussion. The Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) had an important role in the founding of the International Asociation for Feminist Economics (IAFFE). (I read Amartya Sen - who was a student of Joan Robinson - as supporting feminist economics.)

I recall reading the report of the AEA Commission on Graduate Education in Economics (COGEE). I guess this report is:

• Krueger et al. (1991). "Report of the Commission on Graduate Education in Economics", Journal of Economic Literature, V. 29, N. 3: 1035-1053

But, if I recall correctly, that journal issue contained other related articles. For example, Robert Lucas pooh-poohed the concerns of other commission members. I don't recall reading W. Lee Hansen's article in the May 1990 issue of the American Economic Review.

A later AEA committee, headed by Thomas Schelling, looked into the openness of the AEA journals. I guess I want to read this:

• Schelling, Thomas (2000). "Report on the AEA Committee on Journals", American Economic Review, V. 90, N. 2: 528-531.

The title of this post comes from a signed petition, published as a paid ad, in the May 1992 issue of the American Economic Review.