British association for the advancement of science. Section F (Economics)

Section F of the British Association for the Advancement of Science was founded in 1833 by the British Association, which had itself been founded in 1831. The idea of a section of the British Association which could concentrate on economic and social problems was developed principally by Charles Babbage, Thomas Malthus and Adam Sidgwick. The first meeting was held in 1834 under the presidency of Sir Charles Lemmon.

At its inception the Section became known as the Statistical Section, and became known in addition as Section F in 1835. In 1856 its title was changed from the Statistical Section to the Section of Economic Science and Statistics. Finally in 1948 Section F became the Economics Section of the British Association.

The principal focus of Section F was the annual conference of the British Association and, from 1966 onwards, the publication of its proceedings at these conferences, although it has in the past run its own research projects through standing committees.

Section F is currently still extant. The principal officers in Section F are the President, the Vice President and the Recorder. The president is appointed annually by the Council of the British Association and is not eligible for re-election. The president has been the editor of the proceedings of Section F at the annual conferences of the British Association since they began to be published.

From the guide to the British Association for the Advancement of Science Section F (Economics), 1973-1998, (British Library of Political and Economic Science)