Economics Group Bans Larry Summers for Life Amid Epstein Email Fallout

Larry Summers, pictured above, has resigned from the American Economic Association. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• The American Economic Association accepted Lawrence Summers’ resignation and barred him for life from its events due to emails with Jeffrey Epstein.
• The AEA stated that Summers’ correspondence with Epstein was inconsistent with professional integrity and trust placed in mentors.
• Summers, a former Treasury Secretary, has resigned from multiple advisory and board positions and called his engagement with Epstein a “major error of judgment.”

The American Economic Association said it has accepted Lawrence Summers’ resignation and barred him for life from attending or participating in its events, marking one of the strongest institutional responses yet to the release of emails showing years of correspondence between Summers and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The association said the messages, made public last month through the House Oversight Committee, were “fundamentally inconsistent with its standards of professional integrity and with the trust placed in mentors within the economics profession.”

Summers, a former Treasury Secretary and Harvard president, is widely seen as one of the most influential economists of his generation. He didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Summers has previously said he is “deeply ashamed” of the relationship and called his continued engagement with Epstein a “major error of judgment.” He has stepped back from public commitments in recent weeks and has resigned from multiple advisory and board positions.

There have been no criminal charges made against Summers.

The AEA sets the tone for professional norms in economics, and its annual meeting is the field’s central gathering place. The decision effectively removes Summers from the core institutions that shape the discipline.

Summers is no longer allowed to appear at AEA conferences, speak on panels, submit or referee papers for AEA journals, or hold any formal role in the organization.

The emails, which span 2013 through 2019, show Summers and Epstein discussing philanthropic efforts connected to Harvard and trading personal notes, including exchanges in which Epstein offered guidance on Summers’ personal life.

Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution from a minor in 2008.

Summers has left high-profile roles, including the board of OpenAI, and Harvard has reopened a probe into the ties described in the documents.

Summers’ ties with The Center for American Progress, the Center for Global Development, the Budget Lab at Yale University, Bloomberg TV, and the New York Times have also been severed.

Write to Nicole Goodkind at nicole.goodkind@barrons.com