Why do scientists cheat? Insights from behavioral economics

Abstract

Based on a review of the books by Wible (2014), Stephan (2012), and Lanteri and Vromen (2014), I discuss three different ways in which behavioral economics can enrich the understanding of scientific misbehavior. First, behavioral economics suggests that economic theories of scientific misbehavior, such as the one by Wible (2014), should consider moral costs of cheating, i.e. costs that arise from an individual’s desire to do the “right thing.” Second, behavioral economics demonstrates several ways in which the features of the reward scheme in science,as described by Stephan (2012), can favor cheating. Her conclusion that shirking is rarely an issue in science seems optimistic. Third, behavioral economics indicates that individual characteristics matter for cheating. According to Lanteri and Vromen (2014), economists possess different characteristics than other researchers. Hence, the reaction to incentives may differ across disciplines. Considering these insights is important to assess how a goal such as the pursuit of truth can be achieved efficiently.     

Flunking economics?

Economists are in revolt over President Clinton's health care reform proposal. Many contend that the Administration is abandoning free-market principles and embracing price controls that could have disastrous consequences. But others argue that traditional rules of supply and demand don't apply to the health care sector.     

The history of economics as economics?

Abstract

This paper critically evaluates the current decline of the relationship between economics and the history of economics, and proposes a framework called the panorama-cum-scenario model for the practice of the history of economics. Starting with the Hegelian thesis that the history of economics is economics itself, the paper argues that such a relationship is necessary but not sufficient because the history of economics is a metatheory addressed to economic theory. The history of economics needs a panoramic view of the subject and a scenario for the construction, interpretation, and evaluation of the system of economics. The panorama-cum-scenario model enables us to work on the history of economics not only by historical and rational reconstruction but also by global reconstruction. Nietzsche's anti-Hegelian viewpoint and Heidegger's hermeneutical standpoint are useful for identifying the role of historical research in developing economic knowledge based on the panorama-cum-scenario model. Several approaches to the history of economics are examined in light of the panorama-cum-scenario model. Schumpeter's history of economics is interpreted as an example of the panorama-cum-scenario model.     

What is considered deception in experimental economics?

Experimental Economics - In experimental economics there is a norm against using deception. But precisely what constitutes deception is unclear. While there is a consensus view that providing false...     

A quantitative turn in the historiography of economics?

ABSTRACT

Quantitative approaches are not yet common among historians and methodologists of economics, although they are in the study of science by librarians, information scientists, sociologists, historians, and even economists. The main purpose of this essay is to reflect methodologically on the historiography of economics: is it witnessing a quantitative turn? Is such a turn desirable? We answer the first question by pointing out a ‘methodological moment’, in general, and a noticeable rise of quantitative studies among historians of economics during the past few years. To the second question, all contributors to this special issue bring relatively optimistic answers by highlighting the benefits of using quantitative methodologies as complements to the more traditional meta-analyses of both historians and methodologists of economics.     

How is development economics taught in developing countries?

A survey of instructors and data collected from course syllabi and examinations are used to examine how the subject of development economics is taught at the undergraduate and master's levels in developing countries, compared to undergraduate classes in the United States. Topic coverage, teaching approach, and means of assessment all differ from that in leading U.S. economics departments. Development economics is taught largely as a theoretical subject coupled with case studies in developing countries, with few courses emphasizing use of data or empirical methods. Limited financial resources, the educational level of students, and low involvement of instructors in research are considered as explanations for the way the subject is taught in developing countries. The authors conclude with suggestions for improving teaching of development economics.     

Does studying economics in college influence loan decisions later in life?

The authors investigate the relationship between undergraduate economics coursework or majoring in economics and the debt behavior of the college graduates. The data come from the Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) longitudinal survey of the National Center for Education Statistics. College graduates who took courses in undergraduate economics or majored in the subject appear less willing to assume debt through auto loans or federal student loans. If they do assume debt, the amount of the monthly payment (auto loans) or the total amount owed (student loans) is less for college graduates with economics coursework or an economics major compared with other students. The findings are robust for college graduates one year and four years after graduation.     

Applying evolutionary methods in economics: progress or pitfall?

The Darwinian theory of evolution has arguably become an important building block for experimental and theoretical economists. According to Burnham (J Econ Behav Org 90:S113–S127, 2013), it is possible to formulate novel hypotheses and predictions about human preferences, on the basis of what patterns of behavior would have been adaptive in the ancestral environment. After clarifying two theoretical concepts, the Adaptively Relevant Environment and fitness maximization, I argue that multiple scientifically plausible hypotheses about human preferences are compatible with evolutionary models that target behavior. Moreover, I propose a refinement of Burnham’s method based on theoretical resources provided by the indirect evolutionary approach. Economists apply or build evolutionary models of their own that target particular features of human psychology and cognition. Such models may reduce the number of plausible hypotheses to allow for rigorous scientific testing in laboratory or field experiments.

     

Transforming economics into what? Heterodox economics and critical realism

The volume under review consists of comments on critical realismby heterodox economists. This paper addresses a number of themesfrom the book, e.g., history and reflexivity, sometimes expandingon the authors' comments on critical realism, other times respondingto them on behalf of critical realists. It considers the goalsof critical realism and ask to what extent the book furthersthem. It concludes that the high level of abstraction at whichcritical realism operates encourages those commenting on itto do so at a similarly high level of abstraction. As it stands,critical realism and the contributions to the book are too divorcedfrom the concerns of concrete economic theorising to be of greatuse to practising heterodox economists.     

What's in a grade? Grading policies and practices in principles of economics

This study created an experimental design with which students can empirically assess their risk behavior with respect to exam grades within an expected utility framework. Specifically, the authors analyzed students’ risk preferences associated with taking exams and earning a “risky” unknown grade versus not taking exams and instead obtaining a “sure” grade. Students have grade-choice decisions in nonhypothetical situations that impact their actual exam grades. Estimates indicate that the more risk-averse a student is, the more willing he or she is to accept a lower certain grade and not take an exam than to run the risk of actually taking it. We believe that this experimental setup and its binding results make it an easy but effective way of teaching the obtuse concept of risk aversion.     

Syllabus and economics: Reasoning with Generation “Why”

In this article, the authors propose to enhance the syllabus for economic courses with economic explanations. They argue that providing economic rationale for course policies can increase student interest in the course and at the same time positively affect student attitude toward course policies. The authors describe practical strategies for incorporating economic explanations into the syllabus and present insights from piloting the technique.     

Why Are Women Delaying Motherhood in Germany?

Abstract

German fertility trends show that the average age at which women have their first child has increased in recent decades. Moreover, researchers have argued that delayed maternity is an important factor in reduced fertility. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this paper contributes to the debate about maternity timing and reduced fertility in Germany by analyzing some of the factors determining the delay of motherhood. The results suggest that German women who have accumulated more years of education and longer work experience at the time of marriage delay motherhood more. On the other hand, women with higher labor income and a higher contribution to household income delay motherhood less. The results confirm that women consolidate their careers before motherhood in order to reduce career costs. Therefore, if fertility rates are to be increased in Germany further policies that aim to combine women's careers and motherhood need to be developed.     

Explaining changes in tax burdens in Latin America: Do politics trump economics?

This paper examines whether elections, which are generally held on fixed dates, and banking crises explain the timing of tax reforms and the allocation of the additional tax burden. Using an original fine-grained data set of tax reforms, the paper finds support for the role of these two sources of variation. In particular, the probability of reform is higher during banking crises. During electoral periods, increasing taxes becomes highly unlikely, even if the government is facing financing problems. Interestingly, politics seem to trump economics: banking crises do not affect the probability of having a reform during electoral times. Moreover, the presence of an IMF program affects the tax instruments chosen: countries with a program increase the value-added tax, while those without raise the personal income tax. Finally, the ideology of the president does not explain who bears the additional tax burden.     

Back to Buchanan? Explorations of welfare and subjectivism in behavioral economics

In light of behavioral findings regarding inconsistent individual decision-making, economists have begun to re-conceptualize the notion of welfare. One prominent account is the preference purification approach (PP), which attempts to reconstruct preferences from choice data based on a normative understanding of neoclassical rationality. Using Buchanan’s notion of creative choice, this paper criticizes PP’s epistemic, ontological, and psychological assumptions. It identifies PP as a static position that assumes the satisfaction of given ‘true preferences’ as the normative standard for welfare. However, following Buchanan, choice should be understood dynamically as a process whereby preferences constantly regenerate. Accordingly, the meaning of welfare emerges from an ongoing quest for individual self-constitution. If this holds true, then rationality axioms cannot serve as a priori normative standards. Instead, creative imagination and learning processes must remain central to any understanding of welfare in economics.     

What are the top five journals in economics? A new meta-ranking

We construct a meta-ranking of 277 economics journals based on 22 different rankings. The ranking incorporates bibliometric indicators from four different databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and RePEc). We account for the different scaling of the bibliometric indicators by standardizing each ranking score. We run a principal component analysis to assign weights to each ranking. In our meta-ranking, the top five journals are given by: Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Economic Literature (JEL), Journal of Finance, and Econometrica. Additionally, leaving out the JEL as a survey journal and the finance journals in our top 10 list we confirm the perceived top five journals in the economics profession.     

Why Excel?

Advanced Placement economics leaves thousands of high school students with a misleading impression of modern economics. The courses fail to cover key sources of growth and prosperity, including private ownership, dynamic competition, and entrepreneurship. The tools of public choice economics are totally ignored. Government is modeled as a corrective device available to impose ideal solutions. Market failure is covered, but there is no such thing as government failure. The macroeconomics course reflects the simplistic 1960s Keynesian view of stabilization policy. Time lags, incentive effects, secondary effects of budget deficits, and other factors that complicate effective use of stabilization policy are almost entirely ignored. In contrast, the 20 Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics of the Council for Economic Education illustrate what a balanced course in modern economics would look like.     

Why is money important in Jean-Baptiste Say's analysis?

Jean-Baptiste Say dedicated a significant part of his work to monetary questions, as much to explain the monetary practices of his period and to propose concrete measures to improve certain elements, as to develop theoretical reflections on the role of money in the mechanisms that political economy sheds light upon. His thought for that matter is not always devoid of contradictions when it comes to reconciling the results of observation with certain dimensions of his analysis. The article explains his conception of money. A variation in its quantity has an impact not only on prices, but also on the real economy, favourable when this issue is slow and moderate, but negative, on the other hand, when it is fast and large-scale. This leads to the measures of monetary policy recommended by Say.     

Public happiness in today’s economics

This paper illustrates the significance of revisiting the idea of public happiness today, by briefly discussing recent contributions, some of which appeared in the IREC review.