Appendix A: Full Survey Text
We recruited economists using an email requesting participation in a survey with the following text:
-
"Dear Economist, When economists disagree about fundamental questions, what are factors driving the divergence? We are conducting a survey of economists for use in academic research about this decades old question and would like to request your participation. The survey will ask about your personal opinions on a range of economic and moral judgment propositions. It should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete. If you are willing to participate, please click here [SurveyLink]. This project is being overseen by the institutional review board at New York University. You are being contacted because we have identified you as a practicing economist or economic instructor, using information publicly listed on your institution’s website. Your identity will remain anonymous, and responses will only be reported in aggregate."
If a respondent economist decided to participate they were shown the survey broken up into four sections: Demographics, Economic Propositions, Moral Propositions, Optional Demographics. Below we report the full survey text for each section.
(1) Demographics
1. Gender: [Male/Female]
2. Year of Birth: [List of years]
3. Level of Economic Education: [PhD, MA, MBA, BA, Other, None]
4. Year PhD Conferred: [List of years, option for "None"]
5. Was Your PhD Conferred by a University in America? [Yes/No]
6. Which School(s) of Thought do You Most Closely Associate With? [Austrian School, Classical, Neoclassical, New Classical (RBCT), New Keynesian, Post-Keynesian, Feminist Economics, Marxism, Monetarism, New Institutional Economics, Virginia School, Other____________]
(2) Economic Propositons
Please read the following sentences and indicate your PERSONAL AGREEMENT or DISAGREEMENT with the statement, using a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).
The statements should be read in context of the United States today, and may be either normative or positive (technical) in nature.
7. Creative destruction is necessary for economic growth
8. A single payer health care system operated by the federal government would improve economic efficiency by reducing health care costs
9. Reducing or limiting income inequality is not an appropriate role for the government
10. Large balance of trade deficits have adverse effects on U.S. economic growth
11. Laws prohibiting U.S. companies from hiring undocumented workers (illegal immigrants) hurt businesses by increasing the price of labor
12. Laws prohibiting the sale and consumption of marijuana are harmful to economic growth
13. Everyone should have a right to affordable housing
14. Our world is so complex that there is no stable, underlying structure measurable over time
15. The current national debt level is adversely affecting the economy
16. Excise taxes should be used to limit the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and other products that are harmful to users
17. Increasing minimum wages typically benefits the current and future labor force on net
18. Fiscal austerity during a recession is harmful to economic growth in the short-run
19. Fiscal austerity during a recession is harmful to economic growth in the long-run
20. Economists can separate positive analysis from normative analysis in their research
21. Well defined property rights are essential for economic growth
22. Income inequality today is adversely affecting economic growth in the U.S.
23. The price system is a mechanism for communicating information and coordinating human action
24. Federal social safety nets (i.e. unemployment insurance, welfare, Medicaid) generally make the economy more efficient than would otherwise be the case in their absence
25. Taken as a whole, government policies of the New Deal served to lengthen and deepen the Great Depression.
26. There should be social institutions that ensure at least a basic income for all
27. Cutting current federal income tax rates would mean higher GDP in the long-run than without a tax cut
28. Deporting all undocumented workers (illegal immigrants) currently working in the U.S. would decrease economic growth on net
29. Large federal budget deficits are typically harmful to the economy
30. The persistence of poverty is primarily due to a break down of the family unit
31. The persistence of poverty is primarily due to growing income inequality
32. The persistence of poverty is primarily due to the existence of social welfare programs like the minimum wage and government housing assistance
(3) Moral Propositions
When you decide whether something is RIGHT or WRONG, to what extent are the following considerations relevant to your thinking. Please answer using the scale of 1 (not at all relevant) to 6 (highly relevant).
33. Whether or not someone showed a lack of respect for authority
34. Whether or not someone suffered emotionally
35. Whether or not everyone is 'pulling their own weight.'
36. Whether or not everyone had an equal chance to succeed
37. Whether or not someone did something to betray his or her group
38. Whether or not someone violated standards of purity and decency
39. Whether or not an action caused chaos or disorder
40. Whether or not someone cared for someone weak or vulnerable
41. Whether or not those who contribute more are rewarded more.
42. Whether or not people were compelled to do things they didn't want to do
43. Whether or not someone did something disgusting
Please read the following sentences and indicate your PERSONAL AGREEMENT or DISAGREEMENT with the statement, using the scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).
44. Compassion for those who are suffering is the most crucial virtue.
45. Hard work doesn't generally bring success; it's more a matter of luck.
46. The individuals' needs and desires should come before the community's needs and desires.
47. People should not do things that are disgusting, even if no one is harmed.
48. Ideally, everyone in society would end up with roughly the same amount of money.
49. One of the worst things a person could do is hurt a defenseless animal.
50. People should be free to do dangerous and self-destructive things, as long as they don't put others at risk.
51. I think it’s morally wrong that rich children inherit a lot of money while poor children inherit nothing.
52. I am proud of my country’s history.
53. The government should do more to advance the common good, even if that means limiting the freedom and choices of individuals.
54. I would call some acts wrong on the grounds that they are unnatural.
(4) Optional Demographic Propositions
If you're willing, we have a few optional demographic questions that will allow us to analyze the results in more depth. Otherwise, you can skip to the end by clicking "done".
55. What JEL codes do you typically use to classify your scholarly research? (I.e. B10, C15, D6, D63, etc.) [Blank]
56. Have You Ever Been Employed by the Federal Government for 12 Months or More? [Yes/No]
57. Have You Ever Received a Research Grant from a For-Profit Institution? [Yes/No]
58. Have You Ever Received a Research Grant from a Not For Profit Institution? [Yes/No]
59. Is English your first language? [Yes/No]
For more information about the theories of moral intuitions that ground this investigation, please visit www.MoralFoundations.org, or take additional surveys at www.yourmorals.org.