Fraud in Science An Economic Approach

Abstract

In recent years, there have been multiple instances of misconduct in science, yet no coherent framework exists for characterizing this phenomenon. The thesis of this article is that economic analysis can provide such a framework. Economic analysis leads to two categories of misconduct: replication failure and fraud. Replication failure can be understood as the scientist making optimal use of time in a professional environment where innovation is emphasized rather than replication. Fraud can be depicted as a deliberate gamble under conditions of uncertainty: The scientist takes advantage of the complexity of science and undermines the integrity of science for personal gain or advancement.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anderson, Alun. 1988a. Criminal charge in scientific fraud case Nature 332:670

. —. 1988b. U.S. congressional committee takes on role of reviewer Nature 332:670

. —. 1988c. First scientific fraud conviction Nature 335:89

. Becker, Gary. 1965. A theory of the allocation of time Economic Journal 75:493-517

. —. 1968. Crime and punishment: An economic approach Journal of Political Economy 76:169-217.

—. 1971. Economic theory New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Becker, G. S., and Wm. M. Landes, eds. 1974. Essays in the economics of crime and punishment. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research.

Boffey, P.M. 1988. Nobel winner is caught up in a dispute over study New York Times, 12 April, C1, C10

. Braunwald, Eugene. 1987. On analysing scientific fraud Nature 325:215-16

10.

. Broad, WM , and Nicholas Wade. 1982. Betrayers of the truth New York : Simon & Schuster.

11.

Budiansky, Stephen. 1983a. Research fraud: False data confessed Nature 301:101

12.

. —. 1983b. Data falsification: NIH decrees ten-year ban on research grants Nature 301:645

13.

. Culliton, B.J. 1986. Harvard researchers retract data in immunology paper Science 234:1069

14.

. —. 1988a. A bitter battle over error Science 240:1720-23

15.

. —. 1988b. A bitter battle over error, II Science 241:18-21

16.

. —. 1988c. Scientists confront misconduct Science 241:1748-49

17.

. DeWald, W.G. , J.G. Thursby , and R.G. Anderson. 1986. Replication in empirical economics American Economic Review 76:587-603

18.

. Ehrlich, Isaac. 1973. Participation in illegitimate activities: A theoretical and empirical investigation Journal of Political Economy 81:521-65

19.

. Eysenck, H.J. , and Leon Kamin. 1981. The intelligence controversy New York: Wiley.

20.

Foreman, Judy. 1988. Baltimore speaks out on disputed study Boston Globe, 23 May, 31, 32

21.

. Gosselin, Peter. 1988. Scientists grapple with rising fraud Boston Globe, 4 December, 1, 28

22.

. Gould, S.J. 1981. The mismeasure of man New York : Norton.

23.

Hearnshaw, L.S. 1979. Cyril Burt, psychologist Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press.

24.

Heineke, J. M., ed. 1978. Economic models of criminal behavior. Amsterdam: North-Holland.

25.

Hilts, P.J. 1991. Science and the stain of scandal New York Times, 4 December, B1, B11

26.

. Hirshleifer, J. , and J.G. Riley. 1979. The analytics of uncertainty and information—An expositional survey Journal of Economic Literature 17:1375-1421

27.

. Holden, Constance. 1986. NIMH fraud charge moves slowly Science 234:1488-89

28.

. Kamin, L.J. 1974. The science and politics of I.Q New York: Wiley.

29.

Koshland, Daniel. 1988a. Balance in Science Science 239:241

30.

. —. 1988b. Science, journalism, and whistle blowing Science 240:585

31.

. —. 1988c. The price of progress Science 241:637

32.

. Lewontin, R.C. , Steven Rose , and L.J. Kamin. 1984. Not in our genes New York: Pantheon.

33.

Machina, Mark. 1987. Choice under uncertainty: Problems solved and unsolved Journal of Economic Perspectives 1:121-54

34.

. McPheters, L. R., and Wm. B. Stronge, eds. 1976. The economics of crime and law enforcement. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.

35.

[ Maddox, John ]. 1987. Fraud, libel, and the literature Unsigned editorial. Nature 325: 181-82

36.

. Milanese, Claudio , N.E. Richardson , and E.L. Reinherz. 1986a. Identification of T helper cell-derived lymphokine that activates resting T lymphocytes Science 231:1118-22

37.

. —. 1986b. Retraction of data Science 234:1056

38.

. "Nova." 1988. Do scientists cheat? WGBH transcript, Boston Public Broadcasting System, 25 October.

39.

Palca, Joseph , and Alun Anderson. 1988. NIH speeds to resolve charges of scientific error Nature 333:788.

40.

Rough justice for Dr. Baltimore. 1991

New York Times , 5 December, A32

41.

. Shoemaker, P.J.H. 1982. The expected utility model: Its variants, purposes, evidence, and limitations Journal of Economic Literature. 20:529-63

42.

. Stewart, Walter , and Ned Feder. 1986. Why research fraud thrives Boston Globe , December, A1, A24

43.

. —. 1987. The integrity of the scientific literature Nature 325:207-14

44.

. —. 1988. Battle over error Science 242:14-67

45.

. van de Kamp, Jacqueline , and M.M. Cummings. 1987. Misconduct and fraud in the life sciences: Literature search Bethesda, MD: National Library of National Institutes of Health.

46.

Warsh, David. 1991. The end of the fraud game? Boston Globe , 23 June, 29, 33

47.

. Weaver, David , M.H. Reis , C. Albanese , F. Costantini , D. Baltimore , and T. Imanishi-Kari. 1986. Altered repertoire of endogenous immunoglobulin gene expression in transgenic mice containing a rearranged mu heavy chain gene Cell 45:247-59

48.

. Weinstein, Deena. 1979. Fraud in science Social Science Quarterly 59:639-52

49.

. Wible, James R. 1991. Maximization, replication, and the economic rationality of positive economic science Review of Political Economy 3: 164-86.