In 1968, Diamond was elected a fellow and served as President of the Econometric Society. In 2003, he served as president of the American Economic Association. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1978), a Member of the National Academy of Sciences (1984), and is a Founding Member of the National Academy of Social Insurance (1988). Diamond was the 2008 recipient of the Robert M. Ball Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Insurance, awarded by NASI. As a Fulbright Distinguished Chair, in 2000 he taught Economics at the University of Siena.