The Goldman School of Public Policy is pleased to announce that Hilary Hoynes, Professor of Public Policy and Economics and Haas Distinguished Chair in Economic Disparities, was elected as co-vice president of the American Economic Association (AEA). Her tenure begins January 2023. 

Hoynes joins a long list of University of California, Berkeley faculty to hold this role, including economist David H. Romer; Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics recipient David Card; and current Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. 

"I am honored to have been selected by the membership to serve as Vice President of the American Economic Association,” said Hoynes. “I stand ready to help with the mission of the AEA.” 

The AEA, established in 1885, is a non-profit, non-partisan, scholarly association dedicated to the discussion and publication of economics research. Once composed primarily of college and university economics professors, the AEA now attracts thousands of members from academe, business, government, and consulting groups within diverse disciplines from multicultural backgrounds.

“Professor Hoynes is a truly consequential scholar who cares about her discipline, her community, her UC Berkeley and Goldman School colleagues, and her family,” said Dean David C. Wilson. “We are proud of her commitment to professional service and the ways it aligns with the public mission of our university and our personal commitment to making a difference. I know she would be an excellent and committed officer for the American Economic Association, and we look forward to supporting her work.”

Hoynes has held numerous leadership positions in AEA, and her research on poverty and  inequality has been featured and cited extensively by the association. In addition to participating on multiple AEA committees, she has served as co-editor of the American Economic Review and the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. Her current research examines how access to the social safety net in early life affects children's later life health and human capital outcomes.

“Economics is an amazing discipline; we engage with an incredible range of topics and contribute to national/international debates,” Hoynes said. “But we can do better. The more different folks we bring into the discipline, the better and more relevant our research and teaching. Economics is so much more than people think it is; we need to do a better job of telling our stories. I welcome the opportunity to make progress on these and other important issues."