Having had a strong showing by AFEE scholars at both AFEE@ASSA 2026 and AFEE@ICAPE 2026, significant work lies ahead of us in 2026. Below I report on the results of our November election, the important decisions made at the January 2026 Board meeting, committee appointments, and work to be done.
Elections
You elected the following members to the Board of Directors:
Ilene Grabel, Josef Korbel Institute, University of Denver (US)
Rojhat Avsar, Columbia College, IL (US)
Natalia Maria de Lima Bracarense, University of Tolouse Capitole (France) (International Director)
Beliza Borba de Almeida, Federal University of Parana (Brazil), Graduate Student/Early Career Director
The terms of Barbara Hopkins (Wright State University, OH (US)) and Susan Schroeder (University of Sydney (Australia)) on the Board expired. Their service is appreciated.
The term of Danielle Guizzo, University of Bristol (UK) as International Director expired. Her service in that capacity is appreciated. She now serves as President-Elect 2026.
You elected the following members to serve as officers:
Danielle Guizzo is serving as President-Elect 2026 and has already released the Call for Papers for AFEE@ASSA 2027 and AFEE@ICAPE 2027. That can be found on the AFEE website.
Thomas Kemp, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire (US) will be serving as Secretary-Treasurer after the retirement of Eric Hake, Catawba College, NC (US).
Eric Hake’s exemplary service as Secretary-Treasurer for 20 years was recognized at the Board meeting and at the Membership meeting. Let Eric know how much you appreciate the important work he has done for AFEE. He has made my work for AFEE easier.
Awards
We celebrated the following Award Winners at AFEE@ASSA 2026:
Wolfram Eisner, University of Bremen (Germany) (retired) – Veblen-Commons Award
Beliza Borba de Almeida, Federal University of Parana (Brazil) – James H. Street Scholar
Franklin Obeng-Odoom, University of Helsinki (Sweden) – Clarence E. Ayres Scholar
Teresa Perry, California State University, San Bernadino (US) – Ruth A. Allen Scholar
Congratulations to our Award Winners.
Committees
The AFEE 2026 committees’ memberships are posted on the website at https://afee.net /committees. So much of the work of AFEE is performed by committees. It is a privilege to see so many members graciously accept appointments.
AFEE@ASSA 2026 and AFEE@ICAPE 2026
The theme for our conference was “Economic Power: Institutional Economics Identifies It, Analyzes It, Assesses Its Consequences and Formulates Responses.” Three panels and a round table were submitted and approved. The Round Table on the “Trump Economic Program and Its Impact” was co-sponsored by AFEE, the Association for Social Economics, and the Union for Radical Political Economics. It was attended by more than 160. Two sessions were sponsored jointly with other associations. One was joint with the Association for Social Economics and one was joint with the History of Economics Society. More than 70 proposals for papers were submitted. Of those 45 were assigned to 10 sessions along with the presentations by the Ayres Scholar, the Street Scholar and the Allen Scholar. The other submissions were scheduled for presentation at ICAPE 2026. The option for presenters at ICAPE to appear virtually is a welcome alternative to the exclusion of virtual presentations at AFEE@ASSA.
In addition to joint sessions with other associations sharing our critical examination of economics, Eric Hake successfully organized a cocktail party hosted by AFEE, ASE, HES, IAFEE, LERA, and URPE. This was a successful follow-up to a similar event at AFEE@ASSA 2025.
Journal of Economic Issues
The team of William Waller, Editor, and Susan Evans, Production Editor, the volunteer Referees and the Editorial Board produced another year of high-quality publication for the Journal of Economic Issues.
The Journal received 593 submissions in 2025 and accepted 36. The publication queue is 18-24 months. Non-US based and non-US authors were 23 of the 36 submissions accepted. The Editor’s Prize for 2025 was made to Jerry Peterson for his article, “The Rhetoric of Praise, Blame, and Oracle in the Moral Persuasion of Political Economy,” published in the Volume LIX, Number 3 of the Journal.
The Journal of Economic Issues continues to hold a preeminent position among its peers.
Work In Progress
Archive – AFEE has received additional information about the creation of an AFEE Archive. A new ad hoc committee has been convened to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors about such an Archive and the work to be done to assemble the materials.
Young Scholars – At the January 2026 AFEE Board meeting a program for supporting young scholars was discussed. An early career AFEE membership was adopted by the Board of Directors with dues of $15 per year for a period of 3 years. An ad hoc committee will be convened to make recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding a post-conference event for young scholars co-hosted by AFEE and ICAPE at ICAPE.
Dues Structure
With the recognition at the Board meeting of the need to consider alternatives to the standard dues structure, I will be charging the Membership Committee to examine other modifications to our dues structure to encourage membership.
Prospects for 2026
This year promises to be an interesting year for AFEE. Danielle Guizzo in her work as President-Elect has already contributed with a compelling theme for AFEE@ASSA 2027. The Board of Directors adopted Proposal Requirements for requests for funding and increased the budget for the Committee for Regional and International Conferences (CORIC) from $6,000 to $10,000. In 2025 CORIC supported AFEE joint sessions at 5 conferences and a first-time workshop on social and institutional economics for scholars in Romania. AFEE is finding interest and attention in Asia, Europe, and South America. As AFEE expands we will find ways to make membership more accessible.
I first joined AFEE in 1971 and have always found AFEE to be a welcoming community of people concerned about the state of our world and open to anyone who shares that concern. To find my participation supported and encouraged and to become part of the leadership of AFEE 55 years later is beyond any expectation I could have had. I appreciate this opportunity to serve our community.
Truly yours,
Stephen Paschall, BA(Econ), MS (Econ), MSW, JD
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2026 President of AFEE