Année universitaire 2014/2015 Collège universitaire Semestre de printemps Economics & Ethics Sophie Pellé Syllabus Teacher Sophie Pellé, Ph. D. Economist, CEVIPOF, Sciences Po Course description : Economics and Ethics. Two notions that are often considered as forming an oxymoron. Yet, the writings of Amartya Sen, for instance, and the ideas of Corporate Social Responsibility or Responsible Innovation, recently advocated for the reintroduction of ethics within economic theory and practices. This seminar aims at exploring if such an attempt is possible or if it is only a way of sprinkling the holy water of public morality to the demon of the economy to paraphrase Ulrich Beck in his Risk Society (1992). Firstly, at a theoretical level, we will analyze how economists have fluctuated from radical positivism to the recognition of the normative dimension of their work. Secondly, we will investigate to which extend business ethics offers possibilities of adding an ethical commitment to profit maximization objectives. Finally we will consider how recent developments in science and innovation recast the problem and its answers. Concrete examples, borrowed, among others, from the case of emerging technologies, such as nano and bio-technologies will feed the discussion. Teaching Methodology The course will be divided in three main parts addressing the relationships of ethics and a) economic science, b) business practices and c) science and innovation. Case studies and examples will be used as often as possible to illustrate our arguments and to operationalize our concepts. Team-oriented debates will help us to focus on specific issues and to
understand the different aspects of a controversy. Participation and dialogue will be encouraged. Work Load and Validation Students will be expected to have read all the required materials ascribe for every class. Validation includes: Two short test on lectures 6 and 12 25 % each A team oriented debate 20 % A book review or case study on a preapproved 20 % subject (limited length) Oral participation 10 % Readings Sen, A.K. 1987. Rational Fool. On Ethics and Economics. Oxford: Blackwell. Vickers. D. 1997. Economics & Ethics, An introduction to Theory Institution and Policy. Chapter 7. Wesport: Praeger. Carroll, A. B. 2009. A history of Corporate Social Responsibility; Concept and Practices. In Crane et al. (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility. Oxford University Press. Detailed Description Course 1. Introduction: Economics and Ethics, an oxymoron? - What are we talking about? Economic theory, economic practices, ethics: definition. - Two arguments feeding the opposition between economics and ethics: economic theory would be neutral and the maximization of profit cannot be burdened with moral commitment. - Economic theory as a neutral science? J.N. Keynes and L. Walras threefold understanding of economic theory, L. Robbins and M. Friedman s positivism. John Neville Keynes, 1891, the Scope and Method of Political Economy, London: Macmillan. Robbins, Lionel, 1932. An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science. London: Macmillan, chapter VI ( 4-5). PART I. Economic Theory and the Alleged Neutrality of Science. Course 2. Theoretical Hypotheses Ethically Matter.
- Economic theory as a non-neutral construct whose representations of the world have different ethical outcomes. - Example 1: The fiction of the rational agent (cf. Amartya Sen s Rational Fools) - Example 2: the explanation of wages differential between men and women (c.f. Gary Becker s economics of family). Becker, Gary. 1981. A Treatise on the Family. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993. Sen, Amartya K. 1977. Rational Fools, Philosophy and Public Affairs 6, pp. 317-344. Reprinted in Sen, 1982, On Ethics and Economics. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 84-106 Course 3. Does Social Justice Threaten Economic Efficiency? Debate 1. Economic inequalities: economic efficiency vs social justice. Inequalities within economic theory: - The value judgment controversy : Arthur C. Pigou vs Lionel Robbins. - The limits of the Pareto optimality. - John Rawls answer to the dilemma between efficiency and justice. Rawls J. 1971(1999). A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press. Vickers D. 1997.Economics & Ethics, An introduction to Theory Institution and Policy. Chapter 7. Wesport: Praeger. Course 4. Unemployment Explanation the Ethical Outcomes of Economic Theories - Classical and neoclassical interpretation vs Keynesian interpretation. - Ethical outcomes of competing understandings of unemployment. Course 5. Economic Tools in Ethical Reasoning Debate 2. Liberalizing prostitution: enhancing sex workers well-being or institutionalizing the evil? How the tools of economic theory are sometimes misleading, two examples: - Prostitution. - The Missing women issue.
Kant, I. (1775-1780) Duties towards the body in respect of sexual intercourse. Lectures on Ethics, Indianapolis: Hackett Company Inc., 1963. Nussbaum, M. (2012) Ignore the Stigma and Focus on the Need, the New York times, April 19, 2012 Nussbaum, M. (1998) Whether From Reason Or Prejudice : Taking Money For Bodily Services, Journal of Legal Studies, vol. XXVII: 693-724. Sen, A. K. 1990b. More Than 100 Million Women Are Missing. New York Review of Books 20 (37): 61-66. PART II. Economic Practices and Business Ethics: inseparable or irreconcilable? Course 6. Introduction - Is ethics possible while maximizing profit? - The Fable of the Bees (Bernard Mandeville) - The invisible Hand ( Adam Smith) - Milton Friedman scepticism on the possibility of business ethics. Test 1 (45 min) Mandeville, B. 1714. The Fables of Bees: or, Private Vices, Public Benefits. London: Printed for J. Roberts. Smith A. 1776. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, London: Methuen & Co., Ltd. Pub. Friedman M. 1970. The responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine, vol.33, pp. 122-126. Course 7. Corporate Social Responsibility - Overview of the different conceptions of CSR - Archie Carroll three types of responsibility Debate 3. CSR: truthful virtue of the firm or window-dressing? Vogel Daniel. 2005, The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility. Washington: Brookings Institution Press. Carroll, A. B. 2009. A history of Corporate Social Responsibility; Concept and Practices. In Crane et al. (eds). The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Social Responsibility. Oxford University Press.
Course 8. Bad Practices in CSR: the Problem of Evaluation - Case studies and examples of good and bad practices of CSR Debate 4. On the motivations and outcomes, in terms of social responsibility, of firms such as BMW, McDonald s or Total. PART III. Science, Innovation and Society Course 9. The Ethical Management of Science and Innovation - Traditional approaches (Technology Assessment (TA), Participative Technology Assessment (PTA), ethical expertise, etc.) and their limits (Ulrich Beck, Hans Jonas). - Example: the GMOs controversy in Europe. Beck U. 1986 (1992). Risk Society. Towards a New Modernity. Sage Publications. Jonas H. 1979 (1984). The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search of Ethics for the Technological Age. University of Chicago Press Course 10. Nanotechnology: New Grail or Future Asbestos Scandal? Debate 5. Nanotechnology between fears and hype. - Definition and examples - Moral imagination or the need to find new ethical frameworks to manage the development of new technologies. Course 11. Beyond CSR and TA: Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) - Definition of RRI - European policy (Horizon 2020) - The four pillars of RRI - The specific role of participation and deliberation - examples Course 12: Final Test.