Showing posts with label American Economic Association. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American Economic Association. Show all posts

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Where to Draw a Line on Ethics; New York Times, 1/4/11

Edward L. Glaeser, New York Times; Where to Draw a Line on Ethics:

"In one area, however, the A.E.A. can act productively: It can create clear conflict-of-interest disclosure rules for its prestigious journals.

The film “Inside Job” raised disturbing questions about whether economists who regularly wrote or opined on various policy debates failed to report relevant background information, such as board memberships or consulting arrangements. The accusations are serious, and it seems clear that the profession has been carelessly cavalier about conflicts of interest.

As individuals, most of us could do with higher moral standards, but what are the appropriate institutional remedies?

It would be nice to think that the American Economic Association could lay down a code of ethics that would solve everything, but that would be a vast institutional overreach. The biggest problem with that approach is that the A.E.A. is not a licensing or accrediting association, like the American Bar Association."

Shadow Elite: Do Economists Need a Code of Ethics?; HuffingtonPost.com, 1/6/11

Janine R. Wedel and Linda Keenan, HuffingtonPost.com; Shadow Elite: Do Economists Need a Code of Ethics?:

"An ethical code for economists? That's a bit like adopting a chastity vow at the [Playboy] Bunny Ranch."

-reader comment to the New York Times,
January 4, 2011

This comment is striking, and not just because it manages to put "economists" and "Bunny Ranch" in the same unlikely sentence. It shows the stark disillusionment many feel towards some in the profession who have presented themselves as impartial when dispensing economic advice, even when they may well have a personal interest at stake."

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Academic Economists to Consider Ethics Code; New York Times, 12/31/10

Sewell Chan, New York Times; Academic Economists to Consider Ethics Code:

"Academic economists, particularly those active in policy debates in Washington and Wall Street, are facing greater scrutiny of their outside activities these days. Faced with a run of criticism, including a popular movie, leaders of the American Economic Association, the world’s largest professional society for economists, founded in 1885, are considering a step that most other professions took a long time ago — adopting a code of ethical standards."