Allied Social Science Associations 2008 Convention
The Brookings Press joined several thousand participants in New Orleans at the 2008 convention of the American Economic Association/Allied Social Science Associations (AEA/ASSA), America’s largest congregation of academic and professional economists. In between multiple feedings of crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, and piping hot gumbo, we managed to display our newest books in business and economics as well as meeting with some current and potential future authors.
BIP representatives Chris Kelaher and Jaime Fearer were very excited at the prospect of traveling to warmer climes in early January. Much to their chagrin, however, the Big Easy was nearly as cold as Washington when we landed. Who gets frostbite in Louisiana?! Fortunately, things warmed up as the week progressed. The city was packed, as the New Orleans tourism officials managed to sneak the ASSA convention in between the Sugar Bowl (between Georgia and Hawaii) and the BCS National Championship football game between Ohio State and Louisiana State. Bourbon Street was a sea of scarlet and gray as Buckeye fans poured into the Delta: “Toto, we’re not in Columbus anymore!” (They weren’t nearly as happy a few days later: LSU prevailed, 38–24.)
Our most popular title at ASSA was Yegor Gaidar’s Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia. Tied for second were Opportunity 08, edited by Michael O'Hanlon, and Cliff Winston’s Government Failure vs. Market Failure.
Panel topics that captured people’s attention included expert discussions of the subprime crisis, climate change, the economics of national defense, and post-Katrina recovery. Among the speakers commanding large audiences were Paul Krugman, Jamie Galbraith, Joseph Stiglitz, Alan Blinder, and Robert Shiller.
Next year’s ASSA convention will be held January 3–5 in San Francisco. If economics is your bailiwick, maybe we’ll see you in the Bay Area.
- Check out the titles that were popular at ASSA:
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