Western Economic Association International

Western Economic Association International

Formation	1922
Legal status	501(c)3 California Corporation
Purpose	Encourage economic research and discussion, freedom in discussion, and issuance of publications for dissemination of research [1]
Headquarters	Fountain Valley, California, U.S.
Region served	Worldwide
Members	1,500 Individuals and 40 Institutions
Executive Director	Wade E. Martin, PhD
Main organ	Executive Board

Founded in 1922, Western Economic Association International (WEAI) is a non-profit academic society dedicated to the encouragement and dissemination of economic research and analysis. WEAI's principal activities include the publishing of two quarterly journals, and the staging of conferences.

From WEAI's 2009 Bylaws: "The purposes and objectives for which the Western Economic Association International is formed shall be: (a) the encouragement of economic research and discussion; (b) the encouragement of freedom in economic discussion; and (c) the issuance of publications for the purpose of disseminating knowledge on economic subjects. The corporation shall take no partisan attitude, nor will it commit its Members to any position on theoretical or practical economic questions."^[1]

Published since 1962, (formerly Western Economic Journal), EI is a highly regarded scholarly journal in economics, publishing articles of general interest across the profession.^[2][3] Besides containing research on all economics topic areas, a principal objective is to make each article understandable to economists who are not necessarily specialists in the article's topic area. EI was one of the first journals to publish humor papers (now called Miscellany) with the still highly downloaded article "Life Among the Econ" by Axel Leijonhufvud,^[4] and more recently "The Theory of Interstellar Trade: by Paul Krugman.^[5] In 2007, then editor R. Preston McAfee introduced the innovative No Revisions policy^[6][7] for submitted manuscripts. Published in cooperation with Wiley-Blackwell, EI's worldwide circulation is approximately 15,800. Tim Salmon, Southern Methodist University, is the current editor.

First published in 1982 as Contemporary Policy Issues, Contemporary Economic Policy publishes scholarly research and analysis on important policy issues facing society. CEP publishes essays analyzing specific policy issues, surveys of important general subject areas, and research articles devoted to developing new methods for policy analysis. Published in cooperation with Wiley-Blackwell, CEP's worldwide circulation is approximately 15,400. Brad Humphreys, West Virginia University, is the current editor.

Held each summer between mid-June and mid-July, WEAI Annual Conferences provide the opportunity for more than 1,000 economists from around the world to meet and exchange ideas. An average of 300 concurrent sessions are held with participants presenting individual research papers, serving as discussants for papers, chairing sessions, and also organizing entire sessions on the topics of their choice. Other academic societies with similar objectives to WEAI participate as Allied Societies regularly holding sessions and sometimes their own annual meetings^[8] in conjunction with WEAI conferences. Conference highlights include the Annual WEAI Presidential Address as well as the Association's newest member-sponsored program, the Graduate Student Dissertation Workshop.

Held since 1994 in cities like Hong Kong, Taipei, Bangkok, Sydney, Beijing, Kyoto, Brisbane, Santiago, Singapore, Newcastle, and Tokyo, the International Conferences have become a highly successful marketplace of ideas for economists from around the world. Partnerships have been established in the organizing of these conferences with universities and organizations such as Keio University, University of Newcastle, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Queensland University of Technology School of Business, Ryukoku University, Guanghua School of Management Peking University, Academia Sinica, and Hong Kong Economic Association. A smaller format than the Annual Conference, the International Conference program generally consists of 80 to 100 sessions including 300 to 600 economists serving as paper presenters, discussants, chairs, and session organizers. Keynote speakers include Nobel Laureates such as James Heckman, Ken Arrow, Robert Engle, Daniel McFadden, and Peter Diamond.

^[9]

Asterisk (*) indicates recipient of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel^[10]

• 1922: First meeting held in Portland, organized by Alfred C. Schmidt as the Pacific Association of Collegiate Schools of Business and Departments of Economics. The association was originally formed to gather institutions together to discuss challenges and ideas for improvement in academia.
• 1925: Conference renamed to Pacific Collegiate Economic and Commercial Conference.
• 1928: Organization renamed to Pacific Coast Economic Association.
• 1930: First conference held that included individual research papers, thus beginning the format used today.
• 1933: First bylaws issued establishing individual association memberships.
• 1942-45: Conferences suspended due to WWII.
• 1962: Western Economic Journal first issued.
• 1971: Association name changed to Western Economic Association.
• 1977: WEJ name changed to Economic Inquiry.
• 1982: Contemporary Policy Issues first issued.
• 1994: First Pacific Rim conference held in Hong Kong.
• 1994: CPI name changed to Contemporary Economic Policy.
• 2019: Largest annual conference to date with 379 sessions.
• 2022: First hybrid conference held June 29-July 3 in Portland, Oregon.