Documentary Inspires Economist Ethics Rules

The Wall Street Journal reports that the "Inside Job," a documentary about the 2007-2008 financial crisis, provided additional public pressure on economists to implement conflict of interest rules.  The new rules will require economists to disclose financial ties and other potential conflicts of interest in papers published by academic journals.  Because many economists serve as consultants for government, companies and other groups outside of their formal academic work, the argument is that the relationships formed through consulting may have influenced the economists' work, causing them to initially miss the signs of the impending financial crisis and to recommend policy prescriptions that served their clients' interests, at the expense of the economy as a whole.