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ETHICS AND FORENSIC ECONOMICS SYMPOSIUM

Editor's Introduction

In this issue, the JFE includes a group of related papers as part of a symposium on ethics and forensic economics. These papers resulted from a NAFE session on ethics and forensic economics that was organized by current NAFE President Kurt Krueger and NAFE founder John Ward that was part of the program at the January 2012 Allied Social Sciences Associations meeting (ASSA) in Chicago. The session was inspired by the publication of George De- Martino's The Economist's Oath: On the Need for and Content of Professional Economic Ethics 2011. Dr. DeMartino argued in The

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Professional Economic Ethics: The Posnerian and Naïve Perspectives

DOI: 10.5085/jfe.24.1.3

Abstract

There are two broad ways to think about the nature and purpose of professional economic ethics. The first (The Posnerian View), which comes most readily to mind for economists, is ethical legislation that is intended to prohibit illicit or otherwise inappropriate behavior by the members of a profession. The goal is to prevent bad or weak-willed professionals from doing bad things. In this way of thinking, professional ethics must take the form of a binding code of conduct that spells out the “do's” and “don'ts” of professional practice. A second view, the Naïve View, argues that professional ethics is something other than a code of conduct. In this view, professional ethics seeks to enable virtuous practitioners to do good. This view presents an expansive view of professional ethics—as a tradition of careful inquiry into the full range of ethical issues that arise in the context of professional practice.

This paper elaborates the central assumptions and claims of these two perspectives on professional ethics, and explores what these two perspectives imply about the content of and prospects for professional economic ethics. The paper criticizes the Posnerian View, advocates the Naïve View, and teases out what the latter perspective implies for the economics profession.

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NAFE and the Ethics Question

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DOI: 10.5085/jfe.24.1.19

Abstract

Since its organization in 1986, the National Association of Forensic Economics (NAFE), its members, and its leaders have maintained a focus upon ethical issues facing forensic economists and such related issues as the certification of testifying economists and appropriate standards of qualifications and of ethical conduct. In recent years, NAFE sessions and membership surveys demonstrate that this focus upon ethical issues has not diminished.

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Can Statements of Ethical Principles and Codes of Practice Make a Difference? The Results of a NAFE Survey

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DOI: 10.5085/jfe.24.1.25

Abstract

In September 2011 the authors conducted a survey of the membership of NAFE on their attitudes regarding the NAFE Statement of Ethical Principles and Principles of Professional Practice (SEP/PPP) adopted by NAFE as a condition of membership. More specifically, the questionnaire was designed to ascertain the extent to which ethical problems have been encountered in the practice of forensic economics and the influence that NAFE's SEP/PPP has had in mitigating the problems. This article presents a complete summary of the results of that survey.

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ARTICLES

Employee Tenure and Economic Losses in Wrongful Termination Cases

DOI: 10.5085/jfe.24.1.41

Abstract

When calculating lost earnings in wrongful employment termination cases, economists should approximate the amount of time a terminated employee would have remained employed for the defendant employer accounting for the probabilities of surviving, participating in the labor force, being employed, and remaining employed for that particular employer. I develop a model for the annual probability of remaining with a particular employer using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data, which tracks the employment experiences of a nationally-representative cohort of individuals over the 1979 through 2010 period. Many employment spells are relatively short, so short tenures are associated with a high probability of leaving an employer. After a point, somewhat longer tenures are associated with a higher probability of remaining with an employer an additional year.

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2012 Survey of Forensic Economists: Their Methods, Estimates, and Perspectives

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DOI: 10.5085/jfe.24.1.67

Abstract

In January 2012, 583 e-mail invitations to complete an electronic survey were sent to National Association of Forensic Economics (NAFE) members, with libraries and attorneys excluded. The return rate was 32.42%, which is almost 9 percentage points higher than the last paper survey in 2003. The survey covered many of the major topics included in earlier surveys, such as values of important economic variables (e.g., discount rates), trends in the practice of forensic economics (e.g., personal sources of earnings), and open-ended questions concerning ethics and reactions to the survey instrument. There were several new questions. Very few respondents have estimated damages in such categories as pain and suffering, companionship, and guidance; few add agency fees to household services estimates; and it is uncommon for respondents to estimate worklife expectancy differently for self-employed persons versus employees.

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COMMENTS

Personal Consumption and Single Persons: A Reply to Kurt Krueger

DOI: 10.5085/jfe.24.1.101

Abstract

In the last issue of the Journal of Forensic Economics, Kurt Krueger responded to my earlier comment on his paper on “Personal Consumption and Single Persons.” In his response, he provided an incorrect characterization of my views. My response clarifies my own position with respect to testimony about personal consumption of single persons.

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Personal Consumption and Single Persons: A Reply to Thomas R. Ireland

DOI: 10.5085/jfe.24.1.105

Abstract

After an exchange of comments, Ireland now agrees that could-based lost support analysis is appropriate as long as “could” is not represented as “would.” So, regarding the forensic economic convention of “could” or “contingent” based analysis in wrongful death, our exchange nets to zero.

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A Comment on “Self-Consumption in Wrongful Death Cases: Decedent or Family Income?”

DOI: 10.5085/jfe.24.1.109

Abstract

In a recent article in the Journal of Forensic Economics, Michael L. Brookshire and Frank L. Slesnick presented their analysis of the husband or wife decedent self-consumption literature. This comment presents two counter-arguments to their self-consumption methodology which renders their preference to the family income approach inconclusive. I first review the Brookshire and Slesnick make-whole damages doctrine and then I discuss the problems with forecasting household income.

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A Reply to “A Comment on Self-Consumption in Wrongful Death Cases: Decedent or Family Income?”

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DOI: 10.5085/jfe.24.1.113

Abstract

This Reply responds to a comment made to our article titled “Self-consumption in Wrongful Death Cases: Decedent or Family Income?” published recently in the Journal of Forensic Economics 2009. The Comment's two main points are that our definition of the “make-whole” doctrine is not exclusive and the forensic economic literature is not able as yet to forecast total household income. It is our contention that the first point is simply incorrect and that the second point, although containing some validity, does not justify using a method of calculating economic loss just because the forensic economist will find it difficult to forecast the earnings of two individuals rather than one individual.

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Editor's Introduction

Professional Economic Ethics: The Posnerian and Naïve Perspectives

Abstract

NAFE and the Ethics Question

Abstract

Can Statements of Ethical Principles and Codes of Practice Make a Difference? The Results of a NAFE Survey

Abstract

Employee Tenure and Economic Losses in Wrongful Termination Cases

Abstract

2012 Survey of Forensic Economists: Their Methods, Estimates, and Perspectives

Abstract

Personal Consumption and Single Persons: A Reply to Kurt Krueger

Abstract

Personal Consumption and Single Persons: A Reply to Thomas R. Ireland

Abstract

A Comment on “Self-Consumption in Wrongful Death Cases: Decedent or Family Income?”

Abstract

A Reply to “A Comment on Self-Consumption in Wrongful Death Cases: Decedent or Family Income?”

Abstract

Mothers’ Worklives and Marital Status

Personal Consumption and Single Persons: An Update

A Closer Look at Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Neutral Models

Life-Cycle Estimates of Earnings Growth by Education and Gender

Assessing Economic Damages in Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation: The State of Montana