Can Economic Ethics Be Taught?

"Can Economic Ethics Be Taught?"

Recent business scandals and economic upheavals have prompted calls for ethics education. This paper reports the results of three studies that explore possible effects of different types of economic ethics, i.e., ethics instruction in an economic context. Study 1 examines possible effects on fairness views of mandatory justice instruction. Study 2 measures generosity and cooperation among students in economics classes following lectures on professional ethics. Study 3 examines whether distributive and reciprocal preferences are correlated with current or past volunteering activities. The findings are mixed, tentatively suggesting that the existence and type of effect depend on the method employed.