Is There a Free‐Market Economist in the House? The Policy Views of American Economic Association Members

A bstract . People often suppose or imply that free‐market economists constitute a significant portion of all economists. We surveyed American Economic Association members and asked their views on 18 specific forms of government activism. We find that about 8 percent of AEA members can be considered supporters of free‐market principles, and that less than 3 percent may be called strong supporters. The data are broken down by voting behavior (Democratic or Republican). Even the average Republican AEA member is “middle‐of‐the‐road,” not free‐market. We offer several possible explanations of the apparent difference between actual and attributed views.