AEA Distinguished Lecture Series

The AEA Distinguished Lecture is given at the Annual Meeting each year. Those who have given the lecture are listed below.

Leah Boustan delivering the 2026 AEA Distinguished Lecture, "Where are the Streets of Gold? Immigrant Assimilation in the US and Europe"

2026 – Leah Boustan
2025 – Sendhil Mullainathan
2024 – Michael Greenstone
2023 – Daron Acemoglu
2022 – Nathan Nunn
2021 – Emmanuel Saez
2020 – Marianne Bertrand
2019 – David Autor
2018 – David Laibson
2017 – Esther Duflo
2016 – John Y. Campbell
2015 – Raj Chetty
2014 – James Poterba
2013 – Edward Glaeser
2012 – Maurice Obstfeld
2011 – Janet Currie
2010 – Hal Varian
2009 – David Card
2008 – Nicholas Stern
2007 – Lars Hansen
2006 – Claudia Goldin
2005 – Oliver Williamson
2004 – Mervyn A. King
2003 – Stanley Fischer
2002 – Edward C. Prescott
2001 – Robert E. Hall
2000 – Lawrence H. Summers
1999 – Finis Welch
1998 – Lionel W. McKenzie
1997 – D. Gale Johnson
1996 – Martin S. Feldstein
1995 – George P. Shultz
1994 – Kenneth J. Arrow
1993 – Arnold C. Harberger
1992 – Jonas Kornai
1991 – Meeting changed to January
1990 – George A. Akerlof
1989 – David Landes
1988 – Henry J. Aaron
1987 – Alan S. Blinder
1986 – Richard A. Posner
1985 – Herbert Stein
1984 – Alexander K. Cairncross
1983 – Thomas C. Schelling
1982 – Andrew F. Brimmer
1981 – George J. Stigler
1980 – Lionel C. Robbins
1979 – Tibor Scitovsky
1978 – Alfred E. Kahn
1977 – Herbert A. Simon
1976 – Simon Kuznets
1975 – Assar Lindbeck
1974 – Alice M. Rivlin
1973 – Robert M. Solow
1972 – Leonid Hurwicz
1971 – Joan Robinson
1970 – Harry G. Johnson
1969 – Nicholas Georgescu Roegen
1968 – Alexander Gerschenkron
1967 – Jacob Marschak
1966 – Abba P. Lerner
1965 – Kenneth E. Boulding
1964 – W. Arthur Lewis
1963 – James Tobin
1962 – Jacob Viner

*The AEA Distinguished Lecture series was formerly known as the Richard T. Ely Lecture; it was re-named in 2020.