From the Start, NABE Surveys Track Economy, Salaries

[Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of articles planned in observance of NABE's 50th Anniversary.]

Trusting their instincts that fellow economists wanted to know what their colleagues earned as professional economists, NABE’s early leaders fashioned a compensation survey and moved a few years later to establish what is one of the longest-running surveys of the U.S. economy.

Now, 50 years later, NABE is preparing to release its 2008 salary survey, conducted this past spring.  Results of the survey are scheduled for distribution this summer—at no cost to members and for a fee to nonmembers.

By all accounts, the salary survey is one of the most valued benefits of NABE membership and is widely used in the various sectors that employ economists. Add to that the NABE salary calculator, [http://www.nabe.com/mem/salcalc06.cfm] which uses the results of the latest survey to help members estimate the range of their total compensation based on factors such as their educational attainment level, sector of employment, and area of expertise.

Members also have come to rely on NABE’s regular surveys of forecasts on the U.S. economy, industry outlook, and policy issues.  These surveys provide detailed projections not only for practitioners of macroeconomic forecasting but also for members focusing on specific industries or sectors.  And the surveys have become mainstays covered by the financial and general news media, providing visibility to the organization and members who contribute to the effort.

For example, coverage of the last two surveys—the Industry Outlook in April and the Economic Outlook in May—garnered media coverage immediately upon release and for many days to follow, as reporters included the results in articles for newspapers, broadcast outlets, blogs, and other Web-based media.  “Original reports of the survey have appeared in dozens of outlets around the world,” reported Melissa Golding, NABE’s press officer.

Far Cry From Snail Mail Days

The speed and efficiency with which NABE’s surveys are now conducted is a far cry from the mailed paper questionnaires and tedious data entry and analysis of pre-personal computer days, pointed out Tom Loehr.  His consulting firm SurveysToday.com, based in Cleveland, has worked with NABE for many years to both construct and conduct the surveys.

Loehr recalled how, before the wide availability of the Internet and e-mail, surveys spanned several weeks and questionnaires were mailed and returned via the Postal Service, results were collated and data entered and analyzed, and the results were released via faxes and mailings to members and news media.

As Bruce Kratofil, NABE’s webmaster, said: “NABE used to kill a lot more trees” than it does today.   E-mails and Website posting of notices, news, and publications gives members quick access to a wealth of information and links to dozens of useful tools and resources.  For example, the NABE Website offers more than 3,000 pages.

“For this year’s salary survey, we had about 600 respondents or about one-third of the members who were sent the questionnaire,” Loehr said. The survey—covering both pay and job characteristics—is conducted every other year and results from previous years dating back to 1996 are available on nabe.com.  The current survey dates back to 1978.

In conducting salary surveys in recent years, NABE officers encourage broad participation among members, who enter information on a secure link on the main website.  Confidentiality is assured as results are tabulated and released. 

The 2006 salary survey, the most recent, showed the median base salary of 594 responding NABE members was $109,000, a 9 percent increase over the median reported in 2004.  Median entry level pay was $53,500, up 7 percent from 2004.

A decade earlier, the salary survey showed the median base salary of 857 responding NABE members was $73,000, a 4.3 percent increase over the median reported from the 1994 survey.

First Survey Had 56 Percent Response Rate

A few years after it was established in 1959, NABE conducted its first salary survey as part of its plan to engage members and provide services of value as many of them worked to redefine their responsibilities as business economists.

“In mid-1964, past president Bill Butler conducted the first salary survey among members. The questionnaire, along with a cover letter from NABE President Richard Everett, went out in the summer; the confidential responses were tabulated by an independent firm in the late fall,” according to the 1989 History of the National Association of Business Economists.

The history recounts that in January 1965, NABE officers reviewed a draft report of the survey results and agreed to have the details printed in a brochure for members that would summarize the full report.  “Some 56 percent of whom had answered the questionnaire.  This first salary survey was distributed a few months later,” the history said.

During the 1970s, various surveys of members helped the organization find out what types of programs and seminars would be most valuable.  The 1989 history recounts a period in the early 70s, when the economy was facing relatively high inflation and attendance at seminars and meetings was down. John Arena of Loomis Sayles, who served as chair of the planning committee, proposed “a membership survey related to annual meetings and other subjects.”  The board approved the expenditure and the survey was conducted in January 1974 and results were published six months later in the first NABE News.

The 1974 survey was conducted by Frank Schott and Yul Rhee, both of the Equitable Life Assurance Society at the time.  “Recurring themes in answers to write-in questions, showed the members’ desire to learn more about international economics, the long-term economic outlook, and micro-economic analysis,” Rhee said, according to the history volume.

Today NABE officers and staff continue the tradition of asking members what they prefer through evaluation and appraisals requested after each conference and meeting, and at the end of the Professional Development Seminars.  Soon after seminars and meetings adjourn, organizers take the responses and fold them into planning for the next round, as interests and demands for professional resources change with the economic times.