Transparency Principles

PARIS SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS TRANSPARENCY AND PROFESSIONAL INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES

The success of the Paris School of Economics requires scholarly excellence from its teacher-researchers and their openness to broader society and to the media. It also demands respect for ethical principles designed to maintain the integrity of the economics research it conducts. Neither material interest nor partisanship can come before scientific rigour in our publications or communications in the media and in public debate, specialised or general.
The community of economics researchers has been taken to task in recent years over its role in the financial and economic crisis. In particular, doubts have been expressed about the intellectual honesty of some members of the profession whose public announcements seem to have been influenced by their links with economic interests and pressure groups. It is important to prevent such threats to the reputation of the economics profession itself and to the institutions in which it is practiced. With this in mind, it seems essential that members of the Paris School of Economics Foundation commit to respecting some basic principles of transparency and that the Foundation impose those principles on itself.
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PSE Associate and Affiliate members
The principles that Associate and affiliate members of the PSE (hereafter referred to as “members”), must observe are the following:

General principles of Research funding and outside employment
1. Almost all PSE members are principally employed in public research and teaching institutions. As such, they are bound by regulations regarding the remuneration and external employment of public servants.
2. In addition, all members will declare to the Foundation management all sources of additional income greater than 5,000 € and provide details of such income that amounts to i) from 5,000 to 25,000 € per annum and ii) more than 25,000 € per annum. They will also publish this information on their personal page on the PSE website or pages referred to on the latter, under the heading “related paid activities”.
3. PSE members will also commit to posting on their web page all positions of responsibility they hold in associations, political parties, churches and the like, if these affect their research.
4. The Foundation management for its part undertakes to make no public use of this information, but to check regularly that it is available on its members’ websites.

Working papers and scholarly publications
5. Regarding papers and publications containing the name of a researcher affiliated to the PSE, the following rules will apply:
a. All sources of funding for the research, extra to those of the principal employer and the Foundation, will be explicitly indicated.
b. The identity of the organisations that made payments in cash or in kind to the associated researcher or one of the co-authors, and had any interest (financial, ideological or political) in the questions treated in the paper or publication must be mentioned when that remuneration passes 10,000 € over the three preceding years.
c. The researcher must also specify any positions he or she or any co-author occupies in any non-profit organisation or association whose purpose is related to the paper or publication.
d. The working paper or publication must also indicate whether it was approved for release by a provider of finance or of data.

Public interventions
6. Regarding public presentations, public speaking and media interventions, PSE members will detail as far as possible potential conflicts of interest that might influence their opinions or prevent them from making pronouncements on particular questions.
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Principles of transparency for the PSE Foundation
7. In accordance with the basic principle of transparency, the PSE Foundation undertakes to maintain an up-to-date list of its financial sponsors on the PSE website, as well as the composition of its administrative council.
8. Similarly, the PSE will make public each year the list of funding and research grants greater than 10,000 € received for research contracts, consultancies and business chairs, and will detail the nature of the research or services provided in each case.
9. The funding of a particular PSE research project by a private organisation will not prejudice the conclusions drawn from the related research work.
10. Donations to the endowment of the PSE Foundation will be accepted only on condition of non-interference by the donor in either the programme of research or the conclusions reached by the researchers.
11. All research carried out at the Paris School of Economics is eligible for publication in scientific reviews, regardless of how it is funded. In cases where the research uses confidential data, an agreement can be reached ex-ante with the data provider that publication may be delayed, but this delay may not exceed two years after submission of the research results.
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Respect for the principles
The Paris School of Economics commits to reminding Associate and Affiliate members of their obligations in the matter of transparency and to take all appropriate measures whenever those obligations are not respected.