"Should Economists Reveal Who Pays Them?" by Kirk Siegler at NPR

[applegrove]

Should Economists Reveal Who Pays Them?

by Kirk Siegler at NPR

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/11/132808672/should-economists-reveal-who-pays-them


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A Failure To Warn

But so much has changed in the wake of the global financial crisis. There are mounting criticisms that more economists should have warned of the housing bubble. The recent film Inside Job highlighted academic economists providing testimony about the meltdown, even as they were getting paid by financial firms.

All of this sparked nearly 300 economists to send a petition to the American Economic Association ahead of its annual meeting. It urges the group to adopt a formal code of ethics, much like what doctors, lawyers and journalists follow.

"I think the public generally has a growing distrust of economists," says Christian Weller, who signed the petition. He teaches economics at the University of Massachusetts Boston and is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Over coffee one morning at the Denver conference, he says a formal code would restore credibility to the profession.

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"Whenever you turn on the TV, whenever you open the newspaper, there is some economist pontificating about something. And I think the public should know whether the opinion from the economists is truly a neutral credible opinion, or whether there is some financial interest at stake here," Weller says.

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[benld74]

1. HECK yes! and financial advisors, and lawyers giving advice etc,etc,etc

[upi402]

2. and scientists, especially studies and reports

[SoutherDem]

3. Full disclosure across the board

politicians, economist, lawyers, scientist, basically any person or group who are used to sway public opinion.

[applegrove]

4. I thought the new millenium was supposed to be about transparency. But if you look at citizens'

united it seems there is more secrecy in the public sphere than ever before. I really hope this happens. Unfortunately I'm sure the right wants there to be a marketplace everywhere where money buys away any regulations to fully disclose.

[SoutherDem]

5. Your are right

Transparency allows free speech, you just have to let it be know if you have a dog in the fight. As an example a while back I heard of a "climate scientists" who was making claims against the facts of climate change, it turned out he worked for a oil company, or economist who say the stimulus didn't work and it turns out they work for a conservative think tank.

[just1voice]

6. Most economists are not credible, they're stuck in false paradigms

They rarely include crime, corruption and/or cronyism in any of their thinking when those 3 things are the major economic forces in places like the U.S..

[Quantess]

7. Yes.