Some thoughts on the ‘whisper network’ in economics, and how it has recently failed one corner of our discipline:
There is a senior male researcher in my field who ‘everyone knows’ not to work with. He has a reputation for being a compulsive liar and making up data. There are also allegations of sexual harassment.
These stories aren’t secrets, but they’re not exactly public either. We’d counted on a classic ‘whisper network’ among both women and men in the field to protect each other.
But while we thought ‘everyone knew,’ we weren’t actively telling new junior people — I think we all assumed they’d ask our advice, since it’s a small world. We were wrong. He is now coauthoring with many (most?) of the junior women in the field.
A bunch of us are now scrambling to pull each of these women aside, one by one, to fill them in on his bad behavior. Sexual harassment aside, no one wants to coauthor with someone who may be falsifying data.
We’re trying to do better going forward. But in general, it is *always* a good idea to ask senior people (especially the women!) in your field what a person is like to work with, before you coauthor with someone new. You might be amazed at the stories they’ll tell you.
And yes, @LetoC and the AEA Exec Cmte know. Many of us are watching this test case closely.
