rofile Series

In its fourth year, RIE is experimenting with a new feature. The relentless pressure to publish in economics has on occasion tended to force us to concentrate on the emerging frontier of the discipline and to ignore the roots. Our references generally span only a few years, often at the expense of paying scant attention to writings published even a decade earlier. While this practice is efficient in disseminating the new results, it also threatens to produce tunnel vision; we can easily spot a new tree, but often lack a perspective on the entire forest.

RIE's new Profile series will provide sketches of the people who have made landmark contributions to international economics. These articles will provide a panoramic, if brief, view of the lifetime contributions of each featured person in the literature, as well as snapshots of the person who shaped the theories.

This series is kicked off with an article on Nobel laureate Paul Samuelson written by a former student, Ronald Jones. We start our profiles of international economists with the mature end of the profession. To be sure, there are younger economists who have made important contributions in recent years; they must await their turn for a later stage. Our concern is that some members of the current generation may only be dimly aware of the contributions of the pioneers in the stirring times of a previous era. These articles would bring to life some of the earlier contributions of the people who formed the backbone of the field.

As we launch this series, RIE needs your input: Any suggestions regarding the economists to be featured and the writers of the articles can be passed on to the editorial office.