Elizabeth Cascio Elected to Leadership Position With American Economic Association

Elizabeth Cascio, professor of economics and DeWalt H. 1921 and Marie H. Ankeny Professorship in Economic Policy, has been named to the executive committee of the American Economic Association. 

Established in 1885, the association is the economics discipline's largest scholarly organization dedicated to the discussion and publication of economics research. It publishes seven economics journals and encompasses more than 20,000 members from academia, business, government, and consulting groups. 

"This appointment represents a remarkable recognition of Liz's leadership and contributions to economics, as well as a unique opportunity to help shape the future direction of the profession," says Eric Edmonds, chair of the Department of Economics.

"As a teacher, I am consistently amazed by the potential future of our discipline," Cascio says in her statement of purpose regarding the new position. "As an editor, mentor, colleague, and researcher, though, I've felt some alarm about the recent trajectory of economics as a profession. Rising barriers to entry, growing resource inequality, and poor climate are discouraging the next generation and deepening frustration. The AEA's initiatives to expand the number and publication frequency of Association journals, develop a code of professional conduct, promote inclusion, and invest in the pipeline are steps in the right direction. However, more must be done." 

An economist specializing in the study of education, public policy, and children's wellbeing in historical perspective, Cascio joined the Dartmouth faculty in 2006. Her many honors and awards include Dartmouth's 2024 Dean of the Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentoring and Advising. 

Cascio's research has received financial support from the National Science Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the Russell Sage Foundation and has been published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Human Resources, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, the Journal of Public Economics, the Journal of Labor Economics and the Journal of Urban Economics, among many other outlets.  

She also serves as a research associate in the Programs on Education, Development of the American Economy, and Children and Families at the National Bureau of Economic Research, as a research associate at the Institute for the Study of Labor, and as an editor at the Journal of Labor Economics.