A PROPOSED PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION
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A professional home for the economics of crime.
A professional home for the economics of crime.
The Association for Crime Economics will connect scholars studying crime, criminal justice, and public safety through an economic lens — supporting research, careers, and the field's public voice.
Our mission
Our mission
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We are establishing a professional organization to advance the economic analysis of criminal behavior and the efforts to limit its social consequences. Economic research has contributed substantially to the scientific understanding of how behavior and policy determine public safety — and how public safety, in turn, affects the economy and society at large.
Yet no professional home currently connects scholars studying crime and justice from an economic perspective, supports its early-career members, and represents the field in public conversation. The Association will provide that infrastructure: scholarly exchange, career development at every stage, and thoughtful engagement with policy.
How we got here
How we got here
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In February 2026, a survey of the economics-of-crime community gauged interest in creating a professional association and a field journal. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Since then, a founding group of fifteen volunteers, drawn from survey respondents who offered to help organize, has been working to turn that interest into reality — handling incorporation, governance, budgeting, communications, and membership planning. A journal may follow, though the plan is to establish the Association first.
Once the Association has been legally formed and its basic infrastructure is in place, we will hold a broader membership drive and an election for the board.
What the association will do
What the association will do
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Scholarly Exchange
An open-access working paper series, an annual conference with dedicated early-career programming, coordination across existing workshops, and year-round virtual seminars.
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Career Development
Cross-institution mentoring, pipeline support from undergraduates through early-career faculty, and coordinated job-market visibility for crime-economics positions.
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Education & Field Identity
Annual research and service awards, shared teaching materials, and professional development workshops for researchers and practitioners entering the field.
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Public Engagement & Field Integrity
Promoting access to administrative criminal-justice data, open-science and replication norms, and a shared code of professional conduct.
These activities are illustrative of the Association's first few years; a Founding Board will set priorities and sequencing.
Leadership
Leadership
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A founding board and organizational committee are handling the initial work of establishing the Association. A full board election will follow once the Association is formally established.
FOUNDING BOARD
FOUNDING BOARD
Amanda Agan
President
Cornell University
Anne Piehl
Finance Director
Rutgers University
Michael Mueller-Smith
At-Large Director
Rutgers University
Darwyyn Deyo
At-Large Director
San Jose State University
Richard Hahn
At-Large Director
Niskanen Center
Mikkel Mertz
At-Large Director
The ROCKWOOL Foundation
Emily Owens
Governance Director
UC Irvine
Nishith Prakash
At-Large Director
Northeastern University
Mariyana Zapryanova
At-Large Director
Smith College
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEE
All founding board members, together with:
Richard Boylan - Rice University
Jillian Carr - Purdue University
Takuma Kamada - The University of Osaka
JJ Naddeo - Census Bureau
Kevin Schnepel - Simon Fraser University
Erdal Tekin - American University
Advancing the economic analysis of crime
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