Code of Conduct for Members of the Association for Heterodox Economics (AHE)

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Why is a Code of Conduct needed?

AHE members come from many different backgrounds and do not always share the same expectations about what sort of behaviour is, or is not, acceptable. It may therefore be helpful to provide guidance on best practice, and to ask all members to be mindful of this when representing the AHE to the public and working as a team.

Failure to follow high ethical standards of behaviour can have serious consequences such as breakdown of relationships causing stress and disillusionment; loss of members; low diversity of our annual Conference.

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How a Code of Conduct (CoC) can be used

This document can be used as a tool for promoting good relationships within the group.

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Code of Conduct

As a member of AHE I agree to:

  1. Show respect for the plurality of theories and conceptual frameworks which is, inevitably, crucial for the AHE.
  2. Treat other AHE members, supporters and members of the public with respect at all times.
  3. Avoid bringing the AHE into disrepute.
  4. High profile members should be mindful that their private, as well as public, lives have the potential to affect the AHE’s reputation. 
  5. Welcome diversity in the AHE and strive to accommodate the different needs of members wherever possible.
  6. Remember to show appreciation to other members who give their time and talents to support AHE.

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E-mail protocol 

  1. Conversations on email should stay polite; at least as polite as face-to-face conversations, if not more so, since the lack of context can often lead to words being interpreted as less polite than was the writer’s intention.
  2. It is rarely a good idea to send an email in anger. Save it and come back to it the next day.
  3. Consider whether what you have written would be acceptable within another organisation, such as your workplace. If not, don’t send it.
  4. The words of another poster to the HETECON email list should not be quoted anywhere outside of the list without their express permission.
  5. If a member is quoting a previous post they should shorten it to the relevant part, but take care not to change the sense or to lose the correct attribution.
  6. Given the ease of spread of email (whether accidental or deliberate), members should take care to ensure that they do not write anything that would cause serious embarrassment to themselves or the AHE if it were circulated more widely.
  7. If emails on a list become a conversation between two members, it may be more appropriate to continue it off-list.  When using private email addresses, if a member who receives an email states that they feel the email is inappropriate, the sender should immediately stop this form of contact. A simple stop statement to an individual might read: Enough now, no more emails please.
  8. Think before sending large attachments to email lists. Use an alternative way of distributing the information instead if possible (eg. available as an attachment on request, or better, place it on a website and just send the link).

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