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From:
[log in to unmask] (Mary Ann Dimand)
Date:
Fri Mar 31 17:18:28 2006
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Thanks for suggesting I post this, Ross. 
 
By the way, would people address and refer to me as Mary Ann rather than  
Mary, please? Thanks. 
 
A Biographical Dictionary of Women Economists 
 
        In 1935, William Baumol wrote that "before World War I, as today,  
a (distressingly) few women _were_ contributing to the [economics]  
literature"*. In fact, examination of the AEA _Index of Economic  
Journals_ shows that women's contributions were much more numerous than  
is generally realized. 
 
        Women have published in economics at least since the early 19th  
century, but their work has been disproportionately forgotten. Much of  
their work is interesting to historians of thought, and much of their  
feminist economics is still highly relevant. Moreover, their lives are of  
interest: women have become economists despite social and economic  
barriers for almost two centuries, and it is illuminating to learn of  
those barriers, and of how they were surmounted. Mary Ann Dimand, Robert  
Dimand and Evelyn Forget (in alphabetical order) are editing a  
_Biographical Dictionary of Women Economists_, commissioned by Edward  
Elgar Publishing, as an exercise in collective biography, as well as to  
erect a monument to the courage and work of early women economists. 
 
        The _Dictionary_ will consist of essays on the lives, careers and  
research of women economists whose work has been, or should have been,  
important in some field of economic analysis, and who are no longer  
active in economics. An introductory essay will tie together some of what  
may be learned from the collected biographies. Evelyn Forget is associate  
professor of economics at the University of Manitoba. Robert Dimand is  
professor of economics at Brock University (St. Catharines, Ontario), and  
a visiting fellow at Yale. Mary Ann Dimand is a Ph.D. student in  
economics at Yale University. 
 
        Most articles should run from 1000 to 2500 words, depending on  
the importance of the subject in the history of economic thought.  
"Importance" doesn't mean that the woman's contributions need to have  
been recognized, but that the entry's author finds them important and  
writes convincingly of it. Articles should give a biography of the  
subject and an account of her work and its reception or neglect. The  
editors would like accounts of the economists's work to include  
discussion and analysis of the substance of the work and its influence,  
if any, not merely a list of publications. Where the most important  
aspect of a woman's career is her academic work, that should be  
emphasized: however, some entries are included specifically for the  
remarkable biography of the subject. Where a subject's biography is  
particularly important, it should be emphasized. 
 
        Ideally, the editors should receive first drafts of articles by  
the end of December, 1995, on (5.25" or 3.5") diskette in a version of  
WordPerfect as well as in hardcopy. 
 
        In return, contributors will receive a copy of the dictionary  
and, of course, glory. 
 
        While more than fifty entries have been assigned, a number remain  
unassigned. Among unassigned entries are those for Olga Bondareva, Ann  
Friedlander, Karin Kock, Elizabeth Boody Schumpeter, Nancy Schwartz, and 
Maria de C. Tavares. The editors are also still open to the inclusion of  
other women economists, especially those who write in languages other  
than English. 
 
        To receive a copy of the list of assigned and unassigned entries,  
and a copy of guidelines for entries, please send correspondence to: 
 
Mary Ann Dimand and Robert Dimand 
PO Box 207147, Yale Station 
New Haven, CT 06520 
U.S.A. 
 
or 
 
[log in to unmask] 
 
* William Baumol, "On Method in U.S. Economics a Century Earlier", AER  
75(6): 1-12. 
 
 
I might add that entries have begun to arrive at this end. But there's  
still time to fight for a noble cause and get a publication simultaneously. 
 
 
 
 
 

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