The School of Advanced International Studies, since its incorporation into the Johns Hopkins University in 1950, has stressed the role of economics in international affairs. Of the original six professors, two were in the field of economics. John A. Loftus was Professor of Economics and William Taylor Phillips was Professor of International Economics.

The number of professors teaching economics has increased only slightly over the years to its current number of three, including the endowed William L. Clayton chair in economics established in 1963, held since its inception by Isaiah Frank. Frank has been a member of the SAIS faculty since 1952, originally as a Lecturer and, since 1963, as a Professor. In order to accommodate the increasing size and variety of the program at SAIS, a good number of visiting professors and lecturers have been brought in. This has allowed the department to offer courses in areas of current interest, to take advantage of particular expertise, and to change the orientation of classes given in response to changing international trends.