(1) Every submitted article should state the sources of
financial support for the particular research it describes. If none, that fact
should be stated.
(2) Each author of a submitted article should identify each
interested party from whom he or she has received significant financial
support, summing to at least $10,000 in the past three years, in the form of
consultant fees, retainers, grants and the like. The disclosure requirement
also includes in-kind support, such as providing access to data. If the support
in question comes with a non-disclosure obligation, that fact should be stated,
along with as much information as the obligation permits. If there are no such
sources of funds, that fact should be stated explicitly. An “interested” party is any individual,
group, or organization that has a financial, ideological, or political stake
related to the article.
(3) Each author should disclose any paid or unpaid positions
as officer, director, or board member of relevant non-profit organizations or
profit-making entities. A “relevant” organization is one whose policy
positions, goals, or financial interests relate to the article.
(4) The disclosures required above apply to any close
relative or partner of any author.
(5) Each author must disclose if another party had the right
to review the paper prior to its circulation.
(6) For published articles, information on relevant
potential conflicts of interest will be made available to the public.
Full instructions for submissions is at http://www.aeaweb.org/aea_journals/AEA_Disclosure_Policy.pdf.
These requirements seem to have been adopted in the wake of
the Great Recession and concerns that some academic economists were not
revealing potential conflicts of interest when publishing policy-related
research. It will be interesting to see if such requirements spread to other areas, particularly in the social sciences.
If you know in your heart you have nothing to hide, why not disclose?
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