The Association for Social Economics normally holds the World Congress every three years.   The ASE has sponsored the World Congress for Social Economics since 1996. After its founding in 1980 but before 1996, the World Congress was sponsored, first, by the International Institute for Social Economics, and, later, jointly by IISE and ASE.

The World Congress attracts a very different group of participants than do the annual meetings, held in the USA in conjunction with the ASSA meetings every January.  We are able to accommodate more papers at the World Congress, we can include student papers, and we attract more people from outside the U.S. to these meetings.  Holding the World Congress every few years allows us to increase our activities, our presence, and our membership. 

The most recent World Congress was held in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA in 2018. Other recent World Congresses took place in Ontario, Canada (2015), Glasgow, Scotland (2012), Montreal, Canada (2010), and Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2007).