Angus Deaton, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of International Affairs and the Professor of Economics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, was elected as a Corresponding Fellow at the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE). The RSE announced the election of 4 8 new UK and International Fellows to its 1500-strong fellowship of experts in the sciences, arts, humanities, the professions, industry and commerce at the beginning of March 2010.

The RSE was founded in 1783 by Royal Charter for “the advancement of learning and useful knowledge.” Independent and non-partisan, it continues to work to provide public benefit throughout Scotland and by means of a growing international program. The multidisciplinary membership of the RSE makes it unique among learned Societies in the UK. New fellows are elected after a rigorous four-stage selection process culminating in a ballot of the entire fellowship. Each new fellow of the RSE is recognized within his or her peer group as having achieved excellence within his or her discipline or profession. Past fellows have included Sir Walter Scott, Charles Darwin, John Logie Baird, and William Wordsworth. Adam Smith, David Hume, and James Hutton were among the founding fellows, and Benjamin Franklin, who traveled by stage-coach to visit Hume in Edinburgh,was an early Corresponding Fellow.

Edinburgh-born Angus Deaton, former American Economic Association president, is one of the world’s leading developmental economists and a senior advisor to the World Bank. He is also currently a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the British Academy, and the Econometric Society, and was the first recipient of that Society’s Frisch Medal for Applied Econometrics. His current pursuits include research on poverty and inequality around the world, with a particular focus on India. He also works on the determinants of health, particularly the relationship between income and health, both domestically and internationally. Deaton has previously taught at Cambridge University and the University of Bristol. 

“I am pleased to be elected into the Society because Edinburgh is where I was born and because of the RSE’s long and early connections with economics,” said Dr. Deaton.

Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, the president of the RSE, commented, “I am delighted to be able to announce the election of 48 new Fellows of the RSE – each will I am sure be a credit to the Society and I look forward to welcoming them at the new Fellows’ induction day in early May. I hope and expect that our new intake of Fellows will contribute actively to the work that the RSE undertakes in contributing to public policy development, engaging with the public and supporting research and innovation. These are key areas in promoting the core objectives of the Society – the advancement of learning and useful knowledge.”

The RSE seeks to provide public benefit in today’s Scotland by organizing public affairs lectures on topical issues of lasting importance; providing educational activities for primary and secondary school students throughout Scotland; distributing over £2 million to top researchers and entrepreneurs working in Scotland; and showcasing the best of Scotland’s research and development capabilities to the rest of the world. It also facilitates international exchanges to enhance Scotland’s global collaboration in research and enterprise and provide expert information on Scientific issues to members of the Scottish Parliament and researchers.