The Pennsylvania Economic Association (PEA) officially started in 1986. Prior to this historic date, PEA operated informally as the Pennsylvania Conference of Economists for about 30 years.

The PEA is a professional association comprised of faculty, economists and allied social scientists from Pennsylvania, neighboring states and countries around the world. While its roots are in Pennsylvania, it is truly an international organization!

PEA holds annual research conferences at the end of each school year, with a welcoming and relaxed campus atmosphere. Typically, upwards of 100 papers are presented and discussed by its members. The goal is to network and help each other advance their research papers.