Executive Committee Minutes 2015, Boston

Present:

Robert Porter, President 
Eddie Dekel, First Vice-President
Drew Fudenberg, Second Vice-President
Manuel Arellano, Past President 
Hidehiko Ichimura, At-Large Member 
Matthew Jackson, At-Large Member 
Larry Samuelson, At-Large Member 
Daron Acemoglu, Editor of Econometrica 
George Mailath, Editor of Theoretical Economics 
Rosa Matzkin, Editor of Quantitative Economics 
Bernard Salanié, Executive Vice-President 
Claire Sashi, General Manager

Minutes of the August 2014 Meeting

1. The minutes of the August 2014 Executive Committee meeting were approved without change.

Report on the 2014 Election of Fellows

2. Salanié presented the report of the Election of new Fellows. He highlighted the decline in participation of Fellows voting, as well as a lower percentage of candidates nominated and of nominees elected. A discussion ensued on the role of Fellows in the Society and on the overall objective in electing Fellows: to recognize accomplishments in the profession, and to create and renew a body charged of governing the Society and organizing its activities. A variety of suggestions were made so as to increase participation, the number of nominees, and the number of Fellows elected. It was AGREED to modify the instructions to the Nominating Committee for Fellows on three points: to request the Nominating Committee to contact Regional Standing Committees to suggest possible candidates in their Region; to remove any mention of targeted number of nominees; and to give special consideration to younger economists. It was also AGREED to rollover candidates not elected who received 20% of votes from the previous year's ballot, with a cap of 3 years total on the ballot. Salanié will prepare data analyzing changes in the demographics of nominees and elected Fellows for the Montréal meeting.

Newly Elected Fellows event and certificates

3. The Executive Committee discussed the initiative of the 2014 North American Summer meeting, which held an event to honor newly elected Fellows. The Executive Committee AGREED that all Regional meetings and the World Congress should feature a similar event. The discussion moved to other possible ways to recognize service to the Society, in addition to best paper awards; and to the creation of a Fellows certificate or medal. It was AGREED to appoint a committee to explore these initiatives.

Monograph Series Publishing Arrangement

4. The Executive Committee reviewed our current publishing arrangement with Cambridge University Press, as well as the objectives of the Monograph Series. Salanié and Sashi were to meet with the current publisher and notify them that the Society was seeking possible publishing alternatives. The implications on current contracts, previously published work, and access to the Monographs online will also be discussed.

New Lecture Series

5. Arellano presented the Report of the Lecture Series Committee, which consisted of Andrew Chesher, Jeff Ely, and Rafael Repullo (chair.) The Committee proposed the creation of a permanent Lecture Series committee, to include three members; the Chair should be a Past President, and the editors of the Monograph Series would be non-voting members. The lectures should be scheduled for one or two days prior to the respective regional meeting; and they should be funded by sponsors. The Executive Committee discussed the rotation of the Lecture Series among the regions, beginning in 2016 at the Asia, Australasia, and Latin America meetings. It was also AGREED to name the lectures: The Hotelling Lectures in Economic Theory, the Griliches Lectures in Applied Economics, and the Sargan Lectures in Econometrics. 

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