Analyze the SCENARIO, You are a student activist writing for a student publication at Harvard University. You
Question:
Analyze the SCENARIO,
You are a student activist writing for a student publication at Harvard University. You are currently enrolled in a Master's program, you usually cover economic and social justice issues, and you are known to your fellow students on campus for your strong critique of the US government's failure to address the increasing income inequality gap in recent years.
It is 2013, and the HAP (Herndon, Ash, and Pollin) study has just been published. Top journalists working for major publications across the U.S. are writing about the fact that two Harvard professors (Reinhart and Rogoff) have authored an influential but astoundingly inaccurate study in 2010 - a study that had a dramatic impact on global policy matters, being used by international financial institutions and by governments everywhere as evidence in favor of austerity measures.
You are upset about this situation for several reasons. You feel that Reinhart and Rogoff have behaved irresponsibly in releasing their study without providing solid explanations for their weighting methods and without, at the very least, making sure that there are no errors in the way their spreadsheet calculations were set up. You think that this behavior is disqualifying for any academic, let alone for academics who work for one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. You are worried that the scandal surrounding the RR paper will damage the reputation of your university. What compounds your disappointment and anger is the thought that the RR study provided erroneous evidence for global policies that have cost thousands of people their jobs and have made life more difficult for many more (through cuts in public services, etc.).
You want to write something for the student publication you are working for, explaining the seriousness of the situation to your fellow students and asking them to sign a petition requesting
- that the university issue an appropriate public statement on the matter
- that Reinhart and Rogoff publish something that might mitigate the situation (for example, a reasonable explanation for their weighting methods and an apology for the spreadsheet errors).
- Use up to 6 references for your answers.
Expert Answer:
Title Exposing Academic Irresponsibility The ReinhartRogoff Austerity Scandal Dear Fellow Students As students at Harvard University we pride ourselves on the pursuit of knowledge academic integrity a... View the full answer
