Collection

Regional economics associations have historically been useful in elevating the careers of academics through conference networking, leadership opportunities, and journal publication. The major regional associations in the United States, the Eastern Economic Association (EEA), the Southern Economic Association (SEA), and the Western Economic Association International (WEAI), serve mainly two functions: (i) each publishes or is affiliated with a general-interest economics journal, and (ii) each organizes an annual conference held in its region.

WEAI, originally founded in 1922 as the Pacific Association of Collegiate Schools of Business and Department of Economics, was the first among the regional economic associations to be established, followed by the SEA in 1928 (Hoover & Williams 2022). The EEA, established in 1974, was created with a particular emphasis on fostering a more inclusive and pluralistic economic discourse in the eastern United States (Small et al. 2024). 

With these oral histories, we observe how the regional organizations have addressed inclusivity across dimensions such as race, gender, and age as well as in methodological and ideological dimensions. Evidence from the oral histories highlight specific efforts such as professional development workshops aimed at supporting underrepresented groups, special graduate sessions designed to support those entering the discipline, targeted editorial strategies to enhance representation of specific groups and ideas, among others.

This collection gathers interviews collected by Sarah F. Small and Laura Beltran Figueroa, September through November 2024. Funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (grant number 2023-21047) is gratefully acknowledged.

The collection includes six oral history interviews with former leaders of the three organizations and their affiliated journals, including: 

1. James L. Butkiewicz, former editor of the Eastern Economic Journal

2. Jonathan H. Hamilton, former editor of the Southern Economic Journal, and Vice President and President of the Eastern Economic Association 

3. Gary Hoover, former Vice President and President of the Southern Economic Association

4. Joyce Jacobsen, former editor of the Eastern Economic Journal, and former Vice President and President of the Eastern Economic Association

5. Wade E. Martin, former editor of Contemporary Economic Policy (journal of the Western Economic Association International)

6. Gilbert L. Skillman, former editor of the Eastern Economic Journal