European Economic Association

European Economic Association
Name	European Economic Association
Formation	1985
Headquarters	Amsterdam
Leader title	President

Contents

European Economic Association is a scholarly association founded in 1985 to promote research, teaching, and professional interaction among economists across Europe and beyond. The Association organizes annual meetings, publishes journals, and grants prizes that recognize contributions in labor economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and econometrics. It fosters links between academic institutions such as London School of Economics, University of Cambridge, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and Universität Mannheim and policy bodies including European Commission, European Central Bank, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

History

The Association was established in 1985 following discussions at forums involving scholars from Bocconi University, Stockholm School of Economics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Humboldt University of Berlin, and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Early activities connected researchers who had participated in conferences like the Nobel Symposium and workshops sponsored by Centre for Economic Policy Research and Institute for Fiscal Studies. Founding members drew inspiration from professional bodies such as the American Economic Association and Royal Economic Society, while engaging with networks around the European University Institute and the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance. Over time the Association’s conferences have alternated among host cities including Vienna, Prague, Lisbon, Athens, Barcelona, Zurich, Budapest, and Istanbul, reflecting partnerships with regional centers such as Sciences Po, University of Bologna, and Trinity College Dublin.

Governance is conducted through an elected Council and rotating Presidency drawn from institutions like University of Oxford, University College London, European University Institute, Goethe University Frankfurt, and Ecole Polytechnique. The Association’s constitution established committees for program selection, membership oversight, and ethics, modeled in part on procedures used by American Statistical Association and Econometric Society. Collaborations include memorandum agreements with publishers such as Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, and research partnerships with centers like CEPR, IFW, IZA Institute of Labor Economics, and Centre for Advanced Study in Economics. Annual administrative operations involve treasurers and secretariats hosted at universities including Tilburg University and Universiteit van Amsterdam.

Membership comprises academics, doctoral students, and policy researchers affiliated with institutions like Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, Harvard University, Stanford University, as well as European universities such as Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Université Catholique de Louvain, University of Copenhagen, University of Helsinki, and University of Warsaw. Annual congresses feature program committees that select papers through blind review, attracting presenters who have also appeared at Allied Social Science Associations meetings, Royal Statistical Society events, Society for Political Methodology conferences, and European Finance Association gatherings. Past keynote speakers have been associated with prize-winning work at Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences ceremonies, NeurIPS intersections, and publications in journals tied to Cowles Foundation and Nuffield College. Regional sections and special interest groups coordinate workshops with partners such as European Central Bank, Bank of England, Bundesbank, Banco de España, and Swiss National Bank.

The Association supports editorial boards and refereed outlets linked to journals akin to The Economic Journal, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Econometrics, Econometrica, Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Review of Economics and Statistics, and European Economic Review. Research themes span applied micro work comparable to scholars from Institute for Advanced Study, and macro studies engaging staff from International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Collaborative special issues have included contributions connected to research centers such as IZA, CEPR, CESifo, J-PAL, and Center for Economic Policy Research. Working paper series related to the Association circulate alongside repositories maintained by RePEc, SSRN, and university presses at Princeton University Press and MIT Press.

The Association confers prizes that recognize early-career and lifetime achievement comparable in prestige to awards associated with John Bates Clark Medal, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, Frisch Medal, and Yrjö Jahnsson Prize. Recipients often hold posts at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of California, Berkeley, Sciences Po, and Erasmus University Rotterdam. Prize committees include members from Royal Society-affiliated centers, editors from Econometrica and Journal of Political Economy, and officials from European Commission directorates. Awards ceremonies are held during annual congresses alongside lectures and symposia with sponsorship from foundations like Volkswagen Stiftung, Hannah Arendt Center, and philanthropic arms of European Investment Bank.

While primarily academic, the Association engages with policy discussions through panels and memoranda addressed to institutions such as European Commission, European Parliament, European Central Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund. Contributions have informed debates on labor market reform involving International Labour Organization stakeholders, competition policy dialogues tied to European Court of Justice jurisprudence, and fiscal frameworks referenced by Stability and Growth Pact deliberations. Collaborative policy workshops have been organized with think tanks like Bruegel, Brookings Institution, Chatham House, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Fondation Jean-Jaurès to translate research from members at University of Amsterdam and University of Milan into briefs for central banks and ministries of finance.