Fred Lee's pessimistic reading of the attitude to the history of economics   
of the Economics and Econometrics panel in the UK RAE (Research Assessment   
Exercise) may be a little premature (though it may turn out to be correct).   
He seems to base himself on the following statement  
  
'The UOA [Unit of Assessment] includes all aspects of economics and   
econometrics (including, where appropriate, economic history). Research of   
all types, empirical or theoretical, strategic, applied, or policy-focused   
will be considered of equal standing.'  
  
It is true that history of economics is not explicitly mentioned, but it is   
not explicitly excluded either. It could well be covered under 'all aspects   
of economics' and 'research of all types'. The inclusion of economic   
history points in the right direction.  
  
The panel statement adds: 'Where research is at the boundaries of the UOA,   
departments are encouraged to submit their strongest work irrespective of   
the form of output or the extent of its interdisciplinary nature.'  
  
How that actually works out remains to be seen. My guess is that anything   
published in a major general journal will score well (because in practice   
scoring will mainly be by the standing of the journal), but that   
publications in specialist journals in our field will not rate well. Our   
problem will be that we rarely get into major journals, and the RAE will   
simply reflect that.  
  
Tony Brewer