The American Society of Health Economics (ASHEcon) endorses and adopts the American Economic Association (AEA) Code of Professional Conduct, as adopted by the AEA, April 20, 2018.
The American Economic Association holds that principles of professional conduct should guide economists in academia, government, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector.
The AEA’s founding purpose of “the encouragement of economic research” requires intellectual and professional integrity. Integrity demands honesty, care, and transparency in conducting and presenting research; disinterested assessment of ideas; acknowledgement of limits of expertise; and disclosure of real and perceived conflicts of interest.
The AEA encourages the “perfect freedom of economic discussion.” This goal requires an environment where all can freely participate and where each idea is considered on its own merits. Economists have a professional obligation to conduct civil and respectful discourse in all forums, including those that allow confidential or anonymous participation.
The AEA seeks to create a professional environment with equal opportunity and fair treatment for all economists, regardless of age, sex, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, health condition, marital status, parental status, genetic information, political affiliation, professional status, or personal connections.
Economists have both an individual responsibility for their own conduct, and a collective responsibility to promote professional conduct. These responsibilities include developing institutional arrangements and a professional environment that promote free expression concerning economics. These responsibilities also include supporting participation and advancement in the economics profession by individuals from all backgrounds, including particularly those that have been historically underrepresented.
The AEA strives to promote these principles through its activities.
ASHEcon seeks to provide a safe and productive meeting environment that fosters the exchange of scientific ideas, provides equal opportunities and treatment for all participants, and is free of harassment and discrimination. Anyone who experiences or observes discrimination or harassment or any other violation of ASHEcon’s Code of Conduct should report this behavior to the ASHEcon Executive Director, President, or President-Elect.
Reports of discrimination or harassment will be maintained in confidence to the extent that doing so does not compromise ASHEcon’s ability to investigate the reported conduct.
Individuals violating this policy may be subject to disciplinary action. ASHEcon reserves the right to take actions including, but not limited to, removing an individual from a meeting without warning, prohibiting an individual from attending future ASHEcon meetings, terminating an individual’s ASHEcon membership, and notifying an individual’s employer. Retaliation against any person who files a complaint in good faith, or assists in the investigation of such a complaint, is also a violation of this policy and may also be subject to disciplinary action. Individuals making allegations in bad faith may also be subject to disciplinary action.
Sections of this policy draw heavily on the policies of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the NBER. Please direct comments or concerns regarding this policy to the ASHEcon Executive Director.