Here's an email broadcast by the American Economic Association, aimed to promote market thickness by avoiding unraveling and dealing with congestion:
AEA Guidance on Timeline for 2022-23 Economics
Job Cycle
To: Members of the American Economic Association
From: Peter L. Rousseau, Secretary-Treasurer
Subject: AEA Guidance on Timeline for 2022-23 Economics Job Cycle
The AEA Executive Committee, in conjunction with its Committee on the Job Market,
recognizes that it is to the benefit of the profession if the job market for
economists is thick, with many employers and job candidates participating in
the same stages at the same time. Moreover, the AEA's goals of diversity,
equity, and inclusion are fostered by having a timeline that remains widely
known and accepted, ensuring that candidates can correctly anticipate when each
stage will occur. With these goals in mind, and in light of inquiries from both
students and departments about how to proceed, the AEA asks that departments
and other employers consider the following timeline for initial interviews and
“flyouts” in the upcoming job cycle (2022-23).
Interview invitations
The AEA suggests that employers wait to extend interview invitations until
the day after job market signals are transmitted to employers.
Rationale: the AEA created the signaling mechanism to reduce the problem of
asymmetric information and allow job candidates to credibly signal their
interest to two employers. The AEA asks that employers wait to extend interview
invitations until those signals have been transmitted, and to use that information
to finalize their set of candidates to interview. This helps the job market in
several ways: it reduces the problem of imperfect information, it helps ensure
a thick market at each stage, and it promotes the AEA’s goals of diversity,
equity, and inclusion. Job candidates from historically under-represented
groups may lack informal networks and thus may especially rely on the signals
to convey their interest. Waiting to review the signals before issuing
invitations promotes a fairer, more equitable process.
We also ask that all employers indicate on EconTrack when they have extended
interview invitations; this allows candidates to learn about the status of
searches without visiting websites posting crowd-sourced information and
potentially inappropriate other content.
Interviews
The AEA recommends that employers conduct initial interviews starting on Monday,
January 2, 2023, and strongly recommends that all interviews take
place virtually (e.g. by Zoom). We suggest that interviews not take place
during the AEA meeting itself (January 6-8, 2023).
Rationale: In the past, interviews were conducted in person at the AEA/ASSA
meetings. This promoted thickness of the market, because most candidates
and employers were present at the in-person meetings, but had the disadvantage
of precluding both job candidates and interviewers from fully participating in
AEA/ASSA sessions.
Interviews should now be conducted virtually to prevent risk of exposure to
COVID, and to promote equity among the candidates. Informal feedback to the AEA
committee on the job market indicated that the benefits of virtual first-round
interviews (e.g. low monetary cost, zero cost in travel time, convenience)
outweighed the limitations (e.g. less rich interaction).
We recommend that employers wait until January 2 to interview candidates
because job candidates may have teaching or TA responsibilities in December. Moreover,
having a clear start date for interviews will help candidates to have accurate
expectations of the timing of the stages of the market. An unraveling of the
market works against the AEA’s goal of having a thick market at each stage and
also works against candidates having uniform expectations of the timing of each
stage of the market.
We ask that interviews NOT take place during the AEA/ASSA meetings (January
6-8, 2023) in order to allow job candidates and interviewers to participate in
the conference.
Flyouts and offers
Flyouts and offers have historically happened at times appropriate for the
employer, and the AEA sees no reason to suggest otherwise. We ask that
all employers indicate on EconTrack
when they have extended flyout invitations and closed their searches. Unlike
with interviews, the AEA does not take a position on whether flyouts should be
virtual or in-person.
Job market institutions and mechanisms
Please keep in mind the various job market institutions and mechanisms
created by the AEA to improve the job market:
· The
JOE Network includes a database of job openings for economists.
o
Employers may sign up here: https://www.aeaweb.org/joe/employer.
o
Job candidates may search the database here: https://www.aeaweb.org/joe/listings.
o
The JOE Network has an electronic clearinghouse
for job candidates to submit job applications. Job candidates may register
here: https://www.aeaweb.org/joe/candidate.
· The
AEA Committee on the Job Market releases data and guidance on the job market
here: https://www.aeaweb.org/joe/communications.
· EconTrack:
a board on which employers can indicate when they have extended interview and
flyout invitations, and closed their search: https://www.aeaweb.org/econtrack.
Thank you for helping to ensure a transparent and equitable job market for new
Ph.D. economists.
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