Practicing Professional Ethics in Economics and Public Policy PDF
Preview Practicing Professional Ethics in Economics and Public Policy
Elizabeth A.M. Searing Donald R. Searing Editors Practicing Professional Ethics in Economics and Public Policy Practicing Professional Ethics in Economics and Public Policy Elizabeth A.M. Searing (cid:129) Donald R. Searing Editors Practicing Professional Ethics in Economics and Public Policy Editors Elizabeth A.M. Searing Donald R. Searing Department of Public Administration Syncere Systems and Policy Altamont, NY , USA Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy University at Albany – State University of New York Albany , New York , USA ISBN 978-94-017-7305-8 ISBN 978-94-017-7306-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-7306-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2015960200 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016 T his work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. T he use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. T he publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer Science+Business Media B.V. Dordrecht is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www. springer.com) This book is dedicated to the late Woods Bowman, A scholar, friend, and inspiration to all who knew him Pref ace As I write this, I am sitting at an inn in Chitipa, Malawi. Chitipa is the northernmost district in this African country, sharing borders with both Tanzania and Zambia; citizens here endure higher levels of poverty and restricted access to basic services even compared to the rest of Malawi, which ranked 171 out of 187 countries in the Human Development Index in 2011 (United Nations Development Programme, 2011). I am here working with a nonprofi t that was formed when a large INGO pulled out after a completed project, leaving an extensive network of over 300 churches to deliver a wide swath of human services. Since then, the churches have mobilized within their own NGO and expanded the original scope beyond even the boundaries of the original project, motivated by the knowledge that they are improv- ing their own families and neighbors. The electricity has gone out, as it is wont to do. The generator will kick in soon, which is a luxury here, but a necessary business expense for an establishment that houses mzungu (non-Africans). I am waiting for dinner, which will include n sima or white rice with a standard set of accompaniments (never all set out at once in a nor- mal household – again, a luxury of being foreign). I mull the implications of what appears to be a successful devaluation of the Malawi k wacha on the people in and around this town. Since the devaluation and the ascendance to power of the most recent president, there is fuel available for the fi rst time in years, and the road to the town is being paved. But the food stalls and goods vendors in the market are the closest thing to perfect competition I have ever seen, and there is no discernible margin for the sellers. Life can be very hard here for my new associates. There is no shortage of ethical and moral questions in the practice of economics and public policy and anyone in those fi elds have had to address them, whether they admit it or whether they cling to the myth of positivist objectivity. Resources are scarce, and this is evident in the distribution of wealth, intellectual capital, disease prevalence, and so on in the world around you. There are static questions (what is the scenario?) and dynamic questions (how did the scenario become this, and how will it progress?). Inherent in the social sciences, however, are two elements: human behavior and normative elements. There are some that will insist that the place of economics is to describe the scenario and then project, dispassionately, how things vii viii Preface would progress given a certain set of assumptions. The assumption which is over- looked, however, is that upon discovering such information, there is an inherent decision about whether such a situation should perpetuate. Unless our job involves explicit capacity for giving advice, we tend to comfort ourselves that we are there simply there to conduct the measurement, without regard to context or potential impacts. This is false. If we insist that our fi elds are sciences, we must be concerned with causal issues. If we are concerned with causal issues, we aspire to some degree of predictive power. Predictive power gives us the capacity to render aid – we cannot claim one without the other. Therefore, claiming the mantle of objectivity does not excuse us from making a normative judgment on preference – the abstention from a decision is still a decision. As numerous writers have opined, “[o]n the Plains of Hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions, who, at the Dawn of Victory, sat down to wait, and waiting died” (Cecil, 1923). The additional complication for pub- lic policy is that, based on our advice, many others may inadvertently sit down with us. The fact that we are uneasy with that does not excuse us from it. M ost of us realize this and have taken up the mantle of an applied social science because we have elected to spend your time attempting to improve this process in some way. The decision to spend money on school nurses or teacher raises or the recommendation of austerity measures or quantitative easing (or both) will now at least in part be up to you. A s I fi nish writing this piece, I am on the beach at Chintheche, also in Malawi. I ordered off a menu for dinner – chicken with feta and basil, gammon with honey- glazed sweet potatoes, or vegetable lasagna. The prices here are still low compared to the USA (about 50 cents for a bottle of Coke), but not as low as in Chitipa. Here at Chintheche, there are still people willing to trade a beautiful woodcarving for a pair of shorts on the other side of the resort gate, and there are children who wait in the reeds along the beach and shout “give me money” or “sweeties” in hopes of the candy they’ve learned m zungu will bring. Am I heartless that I give no candy? Or would I be heartless if I did? Or am I heartless for not spending all of my kwacha in Chitipa? What about the owners of this inn; who are located here out of a love for the community and the environment? This book isn’t going to tell you how to be a moral professional – you have other books, trainings, and experiences which are all a part of that. But it will clarify your thinking regarding how to implement ethics in your work. You may feel like a new mzungu in Chitipa – you feel as if you have no ability to communicate, no tools, and no knowledge of the ethical terrain. But take a good look around – you’ll fi nd that the formal tools of philosophers will become less intimidating and the practice of professional ethics more natural (and, as a note, that many Chitipans will speak English as clearly as you). It is time to apply rigorous and methodological thinking not only to our work but into how we work. Chitipa, and the rest of the world, will be the better for it. Chitipa, Malawi Elizabeth A.M. Searing August 6, 2012 Preface ix References Cecil, G. W. (1923). Advertisement for international correspondence schools. T he American Magazine , p. 87. United Nations Development Programme. (2011). H uman development report 2011: Malawi .
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