Scholarly Comments on Academic Economics

News & Press

AIER Partners with Econ Journal Watch

Great Barrington, MA — The American Institute for Economic Research is pleased to announce a new partnership with the scholarly journal Econ Journal Watch.

EJW is a maverick journal of academic economics. It publishes critical commentary of leading economic research and analysis of the economics profession.

EJW is edited by Daniel Klein, a professor of economics at George Mason University. “The partnership is a match made in heaven,” said Klein. “Both outfits have a spirit of independent thought and critical discussion. We are honored by AIER’s decision to partner with us. AIER has a great tradition of integrating empirical evidence and conceptual understanding. We gain by their high reputation.”

Econ Journal Watch will carry the description: “A Journal of the American Institute for Economic Research.” The journal will remain where it has been, under the roof of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, but AIER will become the chief supporter of the journal. The partnership commences with a two-year commitment that is expected to become ongoing.

EJW was created to answer a need for critical commentary in the economics profession. A group of economists met in St. Louis in 2003, and in 2004 began publishing EJW three times per year. The journal found rapid success. Seven Nobel laureates have joined the journal’s Advisory Council: James Buchanan, Ronald Coase, Harry Markowitz, Robert Mundell, Douglass North, Thomas Schelling, and Vernon Smith. Readership and professional recognition have exceeded expectations. The journal has been selected by major scholarly indexing, including Thomson-Reuters’ Web of Science.

Among those who met to create EJW were Bruce Benson, Lawrence White, and George Selgin, all friends of AIER and past visiting fellows. Other EJW associates Rick Stroup, Jane Shaw, William Davis, and David Haddock have also been AIER fellows.

“It was Bill Davis,” Klein notes, “who suggested the idea. When I started to inquire with my EJW colleagues, I discovered unvarying enthusiasm.”

AIER president Charles Murray comments, “EJW watches the academic journals for inappropriate assumptions, weak chains of argument, phony claims of relevance, and omissions of pertinent truths. EJW scrutinizes the economic literature, sifting out wheat and exposing chaff. Our founder E.C. Harwood had a profound interest in fostering human knowledge. Harwood always asked, ‘How do you know what you know?’ EJW exemplifies that critical tradition.”

Murray and AIER senior research fellow Richard Ebeling will join the EJW Advisory Council.

“Their fierce integrity was of utmost importance in deciding to partner with them,” Murray adds. “This relationship will allow EJW to remain independent and will complement AIER ‘s existing research and education programs.”

AIER is building a new website EJWNews, with information about forthcoming articles, testimonials to the journal, calls for papers, and other news items. Other developments being considered include hardcopy publication of the journal as an annual volume and the migration of the entire EJW site into AIER’s website.

Murray adds: “EJW always invites replies, and always offers those criticized to have the last word. They are serious about engaging different views. That’s what our founder E.C. Harwood viewed as our mission.”

Announcement: New 4-year Fellowships to be awarded by the Department of Economics at Florida State University

The Florida State University Economics Department will be awarding up to two four-year Charles G. Koch Fellowships to students entering the PhD program in Economics, beginning with the Fall 2009 entering class. The purpose of the fellowships is to support students who wish to pursue a course of study that combines rigorous technical economic training in applied econometrics and economic theory with a focus on the political economy of contemporary economic issues, particularly the role of institutions in advancing prosperity.

These Fellowships are in addition to the Department’s regular program of supporting PhD students as research or teaching assistants. Each Fellowship will be funded for four years. Recipients will receive a $25,000 academic-year stipend along with a full-tuition waiver. The Fellowship recipients will be assigned as one-quarter time research assistants for one of the research faculty members in the new Program for the Study of Political Economy and Free Enterprise (SPEFE).

This assignment may be waived in the third and fourth years of the Fellowship period so recipients can focus on their dissertation research. Recipients will also be encouraged to teach a course during at least some summer sessions in order to be prepared for an academic position upon graduation. More information about these Fellowships, including application requirements, can be found at here.