By Kate M. Conlow.
Academic economists are incredibly influential actors in federal government—they publish impactful scholarship relied upon by public officials, perform government-contracted research, and advise leaders on policy. At the same time, academic economists often maintain close ties to regulated private industry, and conflicts of interest inevitably arise. Yet economics as a discipline has no code of ethics or enforced financial disclosure requirements, and over time, academic economists’ failure to disclose conflicts of interests has contributed to harmful public outcomes. Full Article