The financial sector in the UK is and will continue to be a major driver of economic growth, and the long term prospects are good both for the sector and for jobseekers. In fact, a recent report from Oxford Economics predicts that the Financial Sector will be the main driver of British economic growth over the next two decades. In the short term, though, stagnation and hesitation among big financial companies is being mirrored by a sense of opportunism in smaller ones. The result is a greater diversity of opportunities in the financial sector, and a different landscape of employment prospects for professionals at all stages of their careers in finance.

A big part of ASSA Annual Meeting (check out our post on 2012 ASSA Annual Meeting held in Chicago) is the role that it plays in the life of a PhD economist searching for their first job. Although some graduates choose less conventional ways of approaching the Job Market, for most graduating PhDs, the meeting is where they meet with potential employers, strut their stuff, present their Job Market Papers (JMP) and hope to the high heavens for a fly-out, and, after that, an offer – preferably at their number one choice. If all goes well this process should be over by early March with a good majority of top 50 schools’ graduates having at least one job offer on the table.

New Ph.D Hires in Economics: Expected and Actual Offers for the 2010-11 Academic Year

Conferences have been a pillar of academic thought in the western world for almost a century. Organizations including the American Economic Association (AEA) (organized in 1885, incorporated in 1923), the Royal Economic Society (RES) (incorporated in 1902, although their journal The Economic Journal dates back to 1891), the Western Economic Association International (WEAI) (1922) and the International Atlantic Economic Society (IAES) (1973) have lead the way with their annual meetings that draw anywhere from a couple hundred to over 10,000 annual visitors; and these are only the tip of the iceberg.

Check here the Summer Schools in Economics taking place in 2015!