Origins of the AEA Summer Program
By: Sarafina Bee-Martinelli, AEASP Howard 2023
In the late 1960s, Black economists were growing increasingly disturbed by the absence of opportunities and representation of minorities in the economics profession. They were especially concerned about the American Economic Association’s (AEA) lack of action as the primary professional organization for economists in the United States. In 1969, several Black economists contacted the AEA with a proposal to increase Black economists’ attendance at the Allied Social Science Associations (ASSA) annual meetings. Meanwhile, they tapped into their networks to identify and invite scholars in the field to the meeting with the AEA Executive Committee scheduled for the evening of the first day of the conference, December 28, 1969. More than 25 people attended.
During the meeting that evening, this group which became the Caucus of Black Economists made the following demands: publication of their statement of concern; implementation of strategies aimed at greater representation of Black economists in decision-making roles; partnership with the CBE in the development of programs to increase the supply of Black economists; and the appointment of an associate secretary to facilitate the proposed actions to improve the status of economists from underrepresented communities. Although the economists were building support for their cause elsewhere, the CBE was relatively new, and receiving endorsements from the AEA was critical in easing potential grantmakers’ concerns about sponsorship. After the meeting, AEA president Fellner responded that the Executive Committee had already authorized the appointment of a committee, including representatives of the CBE, to consider plans for increasing the supply of Black economists. The Black Caucus, as it was referred to in the Executive meetings, also successfully had their statement of concern printed in the Papers and Proceedings of the 1970 annual conference.
1970 during the annual March Executive Committee meeting, the AEA established the Advisory Committee on the Education and Training of Minority Group Economists, including Black Caucus members in positions of power as requested. “At its meeting on March 6-7, 1970, the Executive Committee voted to assist the Caucus of Black Economists in organizing and obtaining funds for a program to promote professional research activity by minority-group economists related to ‘Economic Development of Ethnic Communities.’” The AEA appointed the following AEA committee members to advise the Black Caucus on implementing the proposed program: James Tobin, Chairman, Charles Schultze, George Borts, Robert Dorfman, and Marcus Alexis. During the Executive Committee meeting, Andrew F. Brimmer, chairman of the committee representing the Black Caucus as well as the first African American to sit on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, noted some of the major problems in providing training opportunities for minority group economists and outlined a proposed program to improve the situation. Brimmer was already a member of the AEA Executive Committee when he took the initiative to get involved with the CBE. The Committee on the Education and Training of Minority Group Economists estimated an annual cost of $300,000 to $500,000 to run the summer program, believing it would only be launched once funding for at least three years had been secured. The committee voted to authorize an AEA expenditure of up to $10,000 to cover the expenses of this committee, making it very clear that the majority of funding would come from foundations, the federal government, and participating universities.
During the 1971 AEA executive meeting, Tobin, the chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Training of Minority Group Economists, expressed support for the fellowships and summer teaching programs outlined by Brimmer. But contrary to Brimmer’s plan, the Committee had hoped to implement the summer program in 1971, before securing long-term funding. There was no program in 1971 because funds had not been raised. In 1972, the Advisory Committee on the Training of Minority Group Economists appointed a new chairman, Robert Dorfman. During the executive meeting that year, Dorfman reported that a foundation had agreed to give partial support to a program for increasing the supply of minority group economists, but not nearly enough to get it off the ground. In 1973, Dorfman reported that little progress had been made and suggested that the Executive Committee might need to reconsider its strategy. It was agreed to defer any decision until the March meeting.
By the March 1974 meeting, the summer program was under the direction of Marcus Alexis, and the first session was scheduled to be held in the summer of 1974 on the University of California, Berkeley campus. During the executive meeting, the Advisory Committee on the Training of Minority Group Economists was changed to a standing Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession (CSMGEP). Dorfman served as the inaugural chairman. One of the committee’s responsibilities was to work with the Caucus of Black Economists and any similar organizations representing minority groups. The Caucus of Black Economists became the National Economic Association (NEA) in 1974. In 1975, after the first successful summer program, Alexis became the first Black chairman of CSMGEP. During the 1975 executive meeting, the Executive Committee agreed to carry forward the $10,000 previously appropriated to the program and an additional $5,000 not to be used if other funds were obtained. In 1976, the committee voted to appropriate another $10,000 for the Committee with the hope and expectation that further sources of funds would be found and that this appropriation would not be used.
In 1977, Alexis reported seeking long-term financing for the summer training program and was hopeful that a three-year grant would be awarded. The budget for the 1977 summer program was approximately $77,000, with $55,000 from the Sloan Foundation, $20,000 from the AEA, and the remainder from a participating student’s home university. At this point, the bulk of funding was from a Sloan Foundation grant which awarded $170,000 for the summer programs of 1977-79 ($55,000 each year) on the condition that matching funds be raised for 1978 and 1979. This condition put the 1978 summer program in danger of discontinuation unless other funds could match the Sloan Foundation grant. At the time of the 1978 Spring Executive Meeting, $30,000 had been raised ($20,000 of AEA funds and $10,000 of Ford Foundation funds), leaving an additional $25,000 needed for the Sloan Foundation to release the $55,000 for the 1978 summer program. Rather than requesting additional funds from the Association for the following years, Alexis proposed the concept of a consortium consisting of universities with strong graduate programs in economics to support the training of minority students. The Executive Committee endorsed the notion of a consortium that would make the intensity and quality of the program more widely known.
1979 during the March meeting, Alexis reported that the plans for the program were essentially complete and the Sloan Foundation was funding the consortium of Yale, M.I.T., Michigan, Northwestern, and Stanford. He projected a three-year total cost of $297,000 for which no additional funding was needed, signaling the program’s success and stability. In 1980, the summer program would relocate to Yale University, contingent upon continued financing from the Sloan Foundation. $10,000 was appropriated by the Association for the 1980 program, with the provision that it would not be spent if other funds became available. Alexis also reported that the Committee is and would continue to collaborate with the NEA to examine the status of minorities in the economics profession. In 1981, the CSMGEP, led by Alexis and Donald Brown, secured a $200,000 grant from the Sloan Foundation, a $350,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, and $20,000 from the Federal Reserve, ensuring full funding for the next two or three summers, in addition to continued support from the AEA. The committee established the goal that no school should host the program for more than three years. Donald Brown, the Director of the program at Yale, suggested establishing regional programs with multiple cosponsoring institutions to boost recruitment.
In 1982, the Sloan Foundation agreed to provide a $300,000 grant to the existing program and possibly $100,000 for a second, smaller program for Hispanics. 1982 was the last year the summer program would be held at Yale and it was decided that the program would move to the University of Wisconsin for 1983-85. Alexis noted that the AEA had supported the activities of the Committee since 1970 with an appropriation of $10,000 each year, which historically represented about 10 percent of the budget. However, by 1983, the AEA’s contribution represented about 3 percent of the budget. Alexis advocated a substantial increase in the AEA’s level of commitment, perhaps to $25,000, but he did not ask for an addition to the budget for 1984. Alexis also expressed some concern that the past summer faculty did not include a member of a minority group.
In 1983, continued funding from Sloan led to more constraints on grant spending, leaving Alexis anticipating an unspent balance of $150,000 from the original $350,000 Rockefeller grant when it was scheduled to expire in June 1984. He then applied for an extension so the committee could expand its efforts beyond the summer program. Rockefeller was willing to renew the grant under the conditions that the five-school consortium be disbanded, fellowships would be eligible for any school willing to forego tuition, and the Federal Reserve System agreed to support minority graduate students during their third and fourth years, given that the Rockefeller grant covered the first two years. The conditions were met and, beginning in January 1985, Rockefeller agreed to support a national fellowship program for minorities for three more years. The final contingency for receiving the Rockefeller grant was presenting a detailed fellowship selection plan to the Executive Committee in March 1985.
In 1985, the AEA accepted responsibility for administrating and implementing the grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Federal Reserve System. The new chairman of CSMGEP, Donald J. Brown, reported three programs under his scope: the summer program, the AEA minority fellowship program, and the AEA/Federal Reserve Bank fellowship program.
Fast forward to today, funding for the program has changed and new funds have been acquired. The AEA summer program has been highly successful in increasing the opportunity for minorities to pursue careers in the economics profession and has positively impacted participants’ professional outcomes. Participants not only actively contribute to the discourse at prestigious conventions like the ASSA meetings but also have gone on to be leaders in academia, industry, and government, advancing knowledge and policy in their respective fields. As we celebrate these achievements, we must recognize that increasing equity and inclusion in economics is far from over. The legacy of the NEA’s allyship with the AEA serves as a poignant reminder that progress is an ongoing fight—one that demands resilience, solidarity, and a commitment to effecting change.
Works Cited
Annual Business Meeting, December 29, 1969, New York Hilton Hotel, New York, New York. (1970). The American Economic Review, 60(2), 487–489. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1815850
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1970). The American Economic Review, 60(2), 491–493. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1815852
Report of the Economics Institute Policy and Advisory Board. (1970). The American Economic Review, 60(2), 524–524. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1815866
Report of the Informal Meeting of the Black Caucus and American Economic Association Representatives. (1970). The American Economic Review, 60(2), 527–527. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1815868
Statement of Concern of the Caucus of Black Economists to the American Economic Association. (1970). The American Economic Review, 60(2), 528–529. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1815869
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1971). The American Economic Review, 61(2), 474–480. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1817031
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1972). The American Economic Review, 62(1/2), 475–479. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1821586
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1973). The American Economic Review, 63(2), 474–478. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1817112
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1974). The American Economic Review, 64(2), 451–457. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1816082
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1975). The American Economic Review, 65(2), 448–453. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1818890
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1976). The American Economic Review, 66(2), 468–476. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1817264
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1977). The American Economic Review, 67(1), 437–441. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1815944
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1978). The American Economic Review, 68(2), 445–452. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1816738
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting. (1979). The American Economic Review, 69(2), 379–384. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1801677
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1980). The American Economic Review, 70(2), 431–435. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1815513
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1981). The American Economic Review, 71(2), 438–442. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1815761
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1982). The American Economic Review, 72(2), 401–406. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1802367
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1983). The American Economic Review, 73(2), 387–392. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1816873
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1984). The American Economic Review, 74(2), 426–431. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1816398
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1985). The American Economic Review, 75(2), 418–422. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1805636
Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings. (1986). The American Economic Review, 76(2), 423–429. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1818809
