Economists David Autor and Amy Finkelstein elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Professors of Economics David Autor and Amy Finkelstein are among the 220 new members the American Academy of Arts and Sciences elected for 2012. Fellow inductees include MIT Philosopher Stephen Yablo, as well as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mel Brooks, and Melinda F. Gates.

One of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies, the Academy is also a leading center for independent policy research. Members contribute to Academy publications and studies of science and technology policy, energy and global security, social policy and American institutions, the humanities and culture, and education.

“Election to the Academy is both an honor for extraordinary accomplishment and a call to serve,” Academy President Leslie C. Berlowitz said in a statement. “We look forward to drawing on the knowledge and expertise of these distinguished men and women to advance solutions to the pressing policy challenges of the day.”

The new class will be inducted at a ceremony on October 6, 2012 at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Since its founding in 1780, the Academy has elected leading “thinkers and doers” from each generation, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 19th century, and Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill in the 20th century. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel laureates and more than 60 Pulitzer Prize winners.