It is fitting to begin this issue of the ISBA Newsletter with thanks to the previous editor, Mike Evans, for a job very well done. In particular, Mike served on an ad hoc basis, taking on tasks above and beyond the call of his position as ISBA secretary. All hail! It is just as fitting to thank the new editor, Fabrizio Ruggeri, for the energy and leadership that are evident everywhere in this new and reorganized Newsletter. This issue is just great, and gives promise of great things to come.

Since this is my first "word" as President, I reviewed the ISBA mission statement, which is at the ISBA home page. It begins, "ISBA was founded in 1992 to promote the development and application of Bayesian statistical theory and methods useful in the solution of theoretical and applied problems in science, industry and government. By sponsoring and organizing meetings and other activities the ISBA provides a focal point for those interested in Bayesian inference and its applications." This Newsletter provides lots of information about the meetings and activities of ISBA - in particular, the quadrennial world meeting of ISBA in Crete in May, 2000.

The ISBA mission statement focuses on developing solutions to real problems. I have always found this focus to be very fruitful in my primary academic field of economics. An audience of economists, even an audience of econometricians, will often go to sleep if the main topic is the weak sufficiency principle, Lindley's paradox, or the latest nuance in Markov chain Monte Carlo methodology. (If one is lucky. One can produce outright hostility given a little effort.) That same audience, if presented with the solution of a real, applied, problem, will sit up and take notice. The more important and common is the problem, the greater will be the interest. In my experience the fact that the solution involves Bayesian methodology is of at most secondary interest, the first time an economist encounters a Bayesian approach. But as the experience is repeated, econometricians and other methodologically inclined economists naturally seek out the common denominator, and for some this leads to serious study of the weak sufficiency principle, Lindley's paradox, and so on. Many will never take this step: they are practical people looking for solutions that work, and are happy to apply them without plumbing the depths of methodology. I have always thought that this reaction by practical people is the ultimate recognition of the utility of Bayesian methods.

As you look at this issue of the Newsletter you will see, alongside the stories of meetings and events, indications of this practical success of Bayesian methods. I call your attention in particular to the article on the Ph.D. thesis by Patrick Bajari, "The First Price Auction with Asymmetric Bidders: Theory and Applications," which won the Zellner Award in 1997. The Zellner award is given by the editorial board of the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics to the best thesis in economics and statistics each year. The award is not for the best Bayesian thesis, and the committee is not comprised of Bayesians. Bajari's thesis makes advances in economic theory and applies them to the practical problem of designing bidding systems for road repair contracts so as to reduce expenditures by local governments. Theory and data meet through Bayesian inference using applications of recently developed MCMC methods. The focus of the thesis is not Bayesian, but the problem could not be solved with non-Bayesian methods. Many economists have take notice! Through the repetition of this sort of success, Bayesian methods will spread in science.

As always, update my posteriors at geweke@bayes.econ.umn.edu.
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