Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession

Created by the American Economic Association over 40 years ago (and in operation under its current name since 1975), the Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession (CSMGEP) exists to monitor the status and promote the advancement of racial/ethnic minority groups in the economics profession. One reason for the concern about the under-representation of racial/ethnic groups in the profession stems from the fact that in many cases, economic policies which directly (and indirectly) affect these populations are shaped without the perspectives of members of these groups; as such, policymakers may have incomplete information about what actually occurs “on the ground”. Moreover, what happens within these populations not only affects members of these groups. Their economic outcomes impact the U.S. as a whole, more so now than in the past, given their current significant presence in the general population. Indeed, the 2010 Decennial Census indicated that Blacks represent one out of every eight people in the U.S., and Hispanics represent one out of every six. Recent Data on Minority Representation in the Economics Profession The extent of the underrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities in the economics profession is not trivial. According to the AEA Universal Academic Questionnaire (UAQ) for the 2010-11 academic year,