Board of Directors

Deirdre McCloskey has been since 2000 UIC Distinguished Professor of Economics, History, English, and Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was Visiting Tinbergen Professor (2002-2006) of Philosophy, Economics, and Art and Cultural Studies at Erasmus University of Rotterdam. Trained at Harvard as an economist, she has written fourteen books and edited seven more, and has published some three hundred and sixty articles on economic theory, economic history, philosophy, rhetoric, feminism, ethics, and law. She taught for twelve years in Economics at the University of Chicago, and describes herself now as a "postmodern free-market quantitative Episcopalian feminist Aristotelian." Her latest books are How to be Human* *Though an Economist (University of Michigan Press 2001), Measurement and Meaning in Economics (S. Ziliak, ed.; Edward Elgar 2001), The Secret Sins of Economics (Prickly Paradigm Pamphlets, U. of Chicago Press, 2002), The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives [with Stephen Ziliak; University of Michigan Press, 2008], and The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Capitalism (U. of Chicago Press, 2006). Before The Bourgeois Virtues her best-known books were The Rhetoric of Economics (University of Wisconsin Press 1st ed. 1985; 2nd ed. 1998) and Crossing: A Memoir (Chicago 1999), which was a New York Times Notable Book.

Her scientific work has been on economic history, especially British. She is currently writing a book, second in a series of four initiated with The Bourgeois Virtues, on Dutch and British economic and social history, 1600-1800, Bourgeois Towns: How Capitalism Became Ethical, 1600-1800. She has written on British economic "failure" in the 19th century, trade and growth in the 19th century, open field agriculture in the middle ages, the Gold Standard, and the Industrial Revolution.

Her philosophical books include The Rhetoric of Economics (University of Wisconsin Press 1st ed. 1985; 2nd ed. 1998), If You're So Smart: The Narrative of Economic Expertise (University of Chicago Press 1990), and Knowledge and Persuasion in Economics (Cambridge 1994). They concern the maladies of social scientific positivism, the epistemological limits of a future social science, and the promise of a rhetorically sophisticated philosophy of science. Recently she has turned to ethics and to a philosophical-historical apology for modern economies.

Richard Anderson is visiting research professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri, and senior research fellow, Hammond Institute for Free Enterprise, Robert W. Plaster School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Missouri.

Prior to joining Lindenwood in July 2013, he served 25 years in the Federal Reserve System: five years in Washington, D.C. at the Federal Reserve Board and 20 years in St. Louis. From 1992 through 2000, he supervised the research automation function in St. Louis. With the late Robert Rasche, he developed the modern St. Louis adjusted monetary base and adjusted reserves (now discontinued by the Bank) and, with Barry Jones (SUNY-Binghamton), the modern Divisia monetary index numbers for the United States, now published by the Center for Financial Stability in New York City. 

In addition to teaching at Lindenwood, Dr. Anderson had taught economics at Virginia Tech, the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, and Michigan State University. He has written dozens of papers in journals such as the American Economic Review; Review of Economics and Statistics; Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking; and the Journal of Econometrics. He received his B.A. in economics from the University of Minnesota in 1972, and his doctorate in economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980.

Amelie Constant was elected President of Society of Government Economists in May 2014. She is a professorial lecturer at the George Washington University and the Director of Migration program area at IZA, Bonn; she is a visiting scholar at Temple University. She is also the founding co-editor of the IZA Journal of Migration and co-editor of Economics of the Elsevier’s International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Previously, she was the founding director of DIWDC, an American independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan economics think tank in DC. She was also a research professor and the Vice Dean of the DIW Graduate School.

Amelie is a leading expert in the economics of international migration and the labor markets. She is studying minority populations and the way migrants behave and fare in a host country. She has written over fifty refereed articles and book chapters and has won several awards for them. She has co-edited the book The Foundations of Migration Economics (2015), the International Handbook of the Economics of Migration (2013), the book How Labor Migrants Fare? (2004), a volume of the Research in Labor Economics Journal (2009), and a special issue of the Journal of International Manpower (2009). Her research has been funded by several foundations. Amelie has also written more than thirty reports and op-ed pieces on migration issues. She has been invited to deliver keynotes, present her research at many institutions, and talk at migration policy panels and symposia; she has also given many interviews to the press.

Amelie has organized over fifty workshops and international conferences with great success. She has also served as reviewer to peer-reviewed journals, grant proposals, Ph.D. dissertations, and promotions/tenure decisions. She has led many initiatives such as mentoring and professional development sessions for junior researchers and faculty at conferences and at DIWDC.

In 2004, Amelie co-founded the Migration research area at IZA and the AM2, with the J. Simon Lecture. In 2009, she co-founded AMERB. Both conferences are highly regarded internationally and highly sought-after. Amelie serves on the editorial board of Applied Economics Quarterly and has been on the scientific committee of several international congresses. She is also a Research Fellow of IZA and RIIM Canada, and a senior visiting fellow at AICGS in DC (2006).

As a professor, Amelie has fifteen years of experience in teaching undergraduate and graduate classes in economics and labor at the GWU, GTU, UAH, and Drexel University. Amelie received her Ph.D. in Labor Economics and Econometrics from Vanderbilt University in 1998, and had her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. She has a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics from the University of 3 Athens, Greece, and an M.A. in Economic Development from the University of Paris II, France. She speaks English, French and Greek fluently and has good command of German. In 2013, Professor Constant became a member of the prestigious Academia Europaea (European Academy of Sciences) for her outstanding achievements as a researcher.

Professor of international economics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies of the University of Denver. He has served on faculty of the School since 1993. Prior to that, he taught at Dickinson College (Carlisle, PA), and Trinity College (Hartford, CT). He earned his BA at Harvard University; an MA in Industrial Relations at Warwick University (Coventry, England); and his PhD in Economics at the University of Massachusetts. Prior to graduate school, Professor DeMartino served as a union organizer and negotiator for AFSCME, AFL-CIO in Connecticut.

Professor DeMartino's research ranges over the ethical foundations of economic theory and policy, the ethical conduct of economists, political economy theory, and global political economy. He has published widely in these areas, including his book Global Economy, Global Justice: Theoretical Objections and Policy Alternatives to Neoliberalism (Routledge, 2000). Over the past several years he has explored professional ethical questions that arise in the context of the practice of economists. He has advocated for the creation of the new field of professional economic ethics in several articles, and in 2011 he published a book-length treatment of these issues—The Economist’s Oath: On the Need for and Content of Professional Economic Ethics (Oxford University Press). The book attracted widespread attention, and he was invited to lecture on related issues at the 2012 World Economic Forum (Davos). He is co-editor (with Deirdre McCloskey) of the Oxford Handbook of Professional Economic Ethics (forthcoming, 2015).

The Economist's Oath builds the case for professional economic ethics. It surveys what economists do and demonstrates that their work is ethically fraught. “It explores the principles, questions, and debates that inform professional ethics in other fields, and identifies the lessons that economics can take from the best established bodies of professional ethics. George DeMartino demonstrates that in the absence of professional ethics, well-meaning economists have committed basic, preventable ethical errors that have caused severe harm for societies across the globe. The book investigates the reforms in economic education that would be necessary to recognize professional ethical obligations, and concludes with the Economist's Oath, drawing on the book's central insights and highlighting the virtues that are required of the ‘ethical economist.’” (Barnes and Nobel, 2011)

Professor DeMartino teaches courses on international trade, the ethical foundations of global economic policymaking, theories of political economy, and professional ethics in international affairs. At present, he is at work on The Tragedy of Economics: The Harm Economists Cause as They Try to Do Good, and writing papers on “econogenic” (economist-induced) harm and other matters pertaining to professional economic practice.

Debra S. Dwyer earned her PH.D. from Cornell University in economics and has spent most of her career as a faculty member within the State University of New York System. She has served as a faculty member, program director, and chair across disciplines in the colleges of arts and sciences, health sciences, and engineering. She spent some time in administration on finance, budget, and strategic planning initiatives. She recently started her own economic consulting business where she serves as an economic consultant on policy and legal matters. She teaches general and health economics, as well as methods courses, at all levels in higher education. Her research interests and publications are related to policies related to investments and disinvestments in health and education, and general policy analysis. Dr. Dwyer is involved in community service including initiatives aimed at improving financial literacy among local high schools serving vulnerable populations as well as advocacy initiatives aimed at reducing inequality and inequity.

Associate professor of economics at the University of Texas at Dallas. From 2008 to 2015, he was an assistant and then associate professor of economics at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. From 2001 to 2008, he worked for the Congressional Budget Office’s tax division. In 2005, while on leave from CBO, Seth served as a staff economist for the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform. His research and teaching focus is in public finance and urban & regional economics. Much of his work examines the effects of taxation on various parts of the economy. This includes the overall efficiency costs from taxation, as well as the effects of tax policy on charitable giving, education finance and interstate migration. He also conducts research focusing on local housing markets and house-price bubbles. Here, his research is used to evaluate policies designed to improve the stability of the housing-finance industry. Seth grew up in Illinois and received his B.A. in economics from the University of Illinois (at Urbana-Champaign) in 1994. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Syracuse University in 2001. 

Assistant professor of economics and finance at Lindenwood University in the School of Accelerated Degree Programs. At Lindenwood she also serves as the Program Director for graduate business administration degrees. In addition, she manages the “Ethics in Economics” reading and publications list for RePEc (Research Papers in Economics). Professor Kichkha’s primary research areas include international trade and finance, behavioral economics, development economics, labor economics, and economics education. Some of her most recent research examines the interaction between workplace accidents and international trade policies. Dr. Kichkha received her MBA from Webster University (1989), her MS in economics from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (1992), and her Ph.D. in economics from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (2012). In AIRLEAP she serves at our Chief Financial Officer 

Steven Payson was the founder of AIRLEAP in 2006, and he served as its Executive Director for the first 11 years of its existence. He stepped down from the Executive Director position and the AIRLEAP Board of Directors at the end of 2017, but in 2021 he joined the AIRLEAP Board again. 

Dr. Payson has been working in economics for about 37 years. His work experience began with 3½ years as a consultant for ICF Incorporated, followed by 4 years as a consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank. He then entered into federal service in January 1992, where he has remained ever since. His government experience includes 4½ at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (Economic Research Service; and Grains, Packers and Stockyards Programs), 7 years at the National Science Foundation (NSF), 8½ years at Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), 7 years at the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and 2½ years at the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). He held the positions of Senior Economist at NSF and USDA, Branch Chief and Chief of Research at BEA, and the most senior economist in the agency at BIA and at BSEE. During this time in federal service, Dr. Payson has also been borrowed by other agencies, as a senior economist and visiting fellow, in advanced management and leadership training programs. He was a visiting fellow for 4 months at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (in the Commerce Department), 9 months at the National Institutes of Health, and 6 months at the Small Business Administration. Since January 2021, at the start of the Biden Administration, Dr. Payson has joined the Department of Homeland Security as the Chief Economist for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in its Office of Policy and Planning, where he remains today.

In addition to this work experience, Dr. Payson, has been an adjunct faculty member in economics since 1987, where he has taught 19 classes in economics at eight universities (American, Columbia, Georgetown, Marymount-VA, Montgomery College-MD, Trinity College-DC, University of Maryland, and Virginia Tech). He has taught undergraduate classes in microeconomics and macroeconomics, and graduate classes on economic development, and the economics of technology.

Dr. Payson wrote his first book in 1994, which was based on his dissertation three years earlier: Quality Measurement in Economics: New Perspectives on the Evolution of Goods and Services (Edward Elgar). He then wrote, in 2000, Economics, Science and Technology (Edward Elgar), and in 2014 he edited a three-volume set, containing 44 chapters written by 60 authors, entitled Public Economics in the United States: How the Government Analyzes and Influences the Economy (ABC-Clio). In that three-volume set he coauthored a chapter on “Monetary Policy” (with D. Bachman). His most-recent books, published by Lexington Books in 2017, are How Economics Professors Can Stop Failing Us: The Discipline at a Crossroads, and The Downsizing of Economics Professors: How It Will Happen, and Why It Will Succeed. 

Dr. Payson has written 22 journal articles and book chapters in economics which have involved a wide range of topic areas. His most recent articles (in 2019-21) that involve AIRLEAP themes, which are freely available online, are: “Redirecting Academic Economics to Embrace Scientific Integrity and Advance Useful Knowledge”(ECCSSA Journal, 2020); “The Urgent Need for an Economics of ‘Hategoatism’”; and Cite This Economics Paper! It Is Time for the House of Cards to Fall Down.

Dr. Payson received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1979 from Wesleyan University in Connecticut with a double-major in Mathematics and Bio-psychology, a Master of Science Degree in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1982, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University in 1991. For work he has performed in the government, Dr. Payson received a Bronze Award from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and a Gold Award from the Department of the Interior. In 2009-10 he also served as the President of the Society of Government Economists.

Section Chief of the Financial Institutions and Regulatory Policy Group, U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Paul Rothstein has worked in the Office of Research at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since May 2011. His responsibilities include coordinating and reviewing the regulatory impact analyses and policy recommendations developed by the economists and analysts in his section. He also leads day-to-day work on the development of plans for the retrospective assessment of Bureau rules. He previously helped develop the Bureau's procedures for regulatory impact analysis, and he analyzed regulatory benefits and costs in a number of Bureau rulemakings, including the mortgage servicing and remittance transfer rulemakings.

From July 2008 to May 2011, Paul was a Senior Economist in the Division of Consumer Protection at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. While at the Commission, he co-authored a report to Congress on the accuracy of consumer credit reports, participated in law enforcement actions against mortgage servicers for unfair and deceptive business practices, and formulated civil penalties and redress amounts in a variety of cases. In addition, he helped develop new regulations on the mortgage loan modification industry.

Prior to joining the FTC, Paul was an Assistant and tenured Associate Professor of Economics at Washington University in St. Louis specializing in public policy, public finance, and federalism. He also served as the Associate Director of the Murray Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy. In that role, he helped develop Center events on policy issues, awarded small research grants and met with Center supporters. His publications have appeared in a range of journals including the Journal of Public Economics, the National Tax Journal, and the American Journal of Political Science; and he has been a visiting professor at the University of Rochester, Carnegie-Mellon, and Duke. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley and a BA from Yale.

Professor of Economics at Roosevelt University, Chicago. His previous appointments include Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was voted Faculty Member of the Year (in 2002) and Most Intellectual Professor (in 2003). At the University of Iowa he earned (in 1996) the Ph.D. in Economics and, at the same time, the Ph.D. Certificate in the Rhetoric of the Human Sciences. He has been a Visiting Professor of Economics, Statistics, Rhetoric, Justice, Social Welfare, and Methodology at leading universities of the United States, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Turkey, and the Netherlands.

His pioneering contributions to the seemingly disparate fields of economic statistics and poetry include Guinnessometrics, the cult of statistical significance, haiku economics, renganomics, and economics rap. His research has appeared in many leading journals, such as The Lancet, Journal of Economic Literature, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Poetry, Biological Theory, International Journal of Forecasting, Journal of Economic History, and Journal of Wine Economics. In 1996, for example, he published a seminal article with Deirdre McCloskey entitled, “The Standard Error of Regressions.”

Dr. Ziliak is the lead author of The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives (2008) with Deirdre N. McCloskey. He is a coauthor, with Deirdre McCloskey and Arjo Klamer, of The Economic Conversation, an evolving textbook and blog, emphasizing dialogue and openness. In addition, he edited and contributed to Measurement and Meaning in Economics: The Essential Deirdre McCloskey (Edward Elgar, 2001). An Associate Editor of Historical Statistics of the United States (Cambridge, 2006), Dr. Ziliak’s work has been featured in Science, Nature, The Economist, Poetry, Wall Street Journal, BBC, NPR, Inside Higher Ed, Chronicle of Higher Education, National Review, Slate, Salon, Washington Post, Financial Times, and New York Times, and as testimony before the Supreme Court of the United States.

He has been appointed to a number of international committees, including the Economics Curriculum Committee Task Force of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) (New York, 2010); American Statistical Association Ad Hoc Committee on P-values and Statistical Significance (Washington, DC, 2014); Chair of the “Best Article in the History of Economics” Committee (History of Economics Society, 2011-2012); the Scientific Advisory Committee of the GTC Drug Design and Molecular Chemistry Conference (Berlin, 2014; Berlin 2015). Dr. Ziliak is also a member or co-founding member of several journal editorial boards, and is a founding member of the World Economics Association.