Working Paper
ARE ECONOMISTS INFLUENCED BY THEIR MORAL WORLDVIEWS?
EVIDENCE FROM THE MORAL FOUNDATIONS OF ECONOMISTS QUESTIONNAIRE
Anthony Randazzo[1]
Jonathan Haidt[2]
December 2015
Feedback welcomed at anthony.randazzo@reason.org.
[1] Anthony Randazzo is director of economic research at Reason Foundation. This working paper drawn from content in his recently completed master’s thesis at New York University.
[2] Jonathan Haidt is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Abstract
Is it possible to use the moral judgments of economists to predict their findings on positive, empirical economic propositions? We consider this question using data we collected using a questionnaire of positive and normative economic propositions, as well as a series of propositions used for measuring moral intuitions. Our analysis of economists’ responses to this survey suggests that moral intuitions have a significant influence on substantive, empirical conclusions via the same channels by which moral intuitions shape normative worldviews. We conclude that the long-recognized line between positive and normative analysis is much blurrier than widely understood.
JEL Codes: A11, A14, B40, B59, P16