Data and Code for: Who Runs the AEA?

The leadership structure of the American Economic Association is documented using a biographical database covering every officer and losing candidate for AEA offices from 1950 to 2019. The analysis focuses on institutional affiliations by education and employment. The structure is strongly hierarchical. A few institutions dominate the leadership, and their dominance has become markedly stronger over time. Broadly two types of explanations are explored: that institutional dominance is based on academic merit or that it is based on self-perpetuating privilege. Network effects that might explain the dynamic of increasing concentration are also investigated.

本数据集借助传记数据库，记录了1950年至2019年间美国经济学会（American Economic Association，AEA）所有公职人员及学会职位竞选落选者的相关信息，以此呈现该学会的领导层架构。本研究的分析重点为研究对象在教育与就业环节中的机构隶属关系。学会的领导层架构呈现极强的层级性：少数机构主导了学会领导层，且这种主导地位随时间推移显著增强。本次研究主要探讨两类解释路径：一是机构主导地位源于学术实力，二是其源于自我延续的特权。此外，研究还对可能解释集中度不断提升这一动态过程的网络效应展开了调研。