Plagiarism in the
Economics Profession
Walter Enders and Gary A. Hoover
University of Alabama
Department of Economics, Finance,
and Legal Studies
What is Plagiarism?

The Modern Language Association’s Style Guide
“Using another person’s ideas or expressions in your writing
without acknowledging the source constitutes plagiarism.”
Black’s Law Dictionary
“the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or
parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of
the same, and passing them off as the product of one's own
mind.”

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (www.m-w.com)
“to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's
own.”

Which of the following constitute
plagiarism?
Not at all
Not likely
Likely
Definitely
Total
2
(1.8%)
21 (19.8%)
47
(44.3%)
36
(34%)
106
Unattributed proof (derivation) from
working paper
0
10
(9.3%)
35
(32.4%)
63 (58.3%)
108
Unattributed proof (derivation) from
published paper
0
5
(4.6%)
32
(29.4%)
72 (66.1%)
109
Unattributed idea
4
(3.9%)
45 (43.7%)
37
(35.9%)
17
(16.5%)
103
Use of privately collected data
without permission
3
(2.8%)
18 (16.8%)
35
(32.7%)
51 (47.7%)
107
Unattributed sentences (several)
In a clear case of plagiarism, which of the
following are appropriate responses?
Not at all
Not likely
Likely
Definitely
Total
Notify the original author (if possible)
2
(1.8%)
9
(8.2%)
21 (19.1%)
78 (70.9%)
110
Notify department chair, dean,
provost….
11
(11%)
42
(42%)
23
(23%)
24
(24%)
100
Ban future submissions to journal
1
(1%)
23
(21.5%)
38 (35.5%)
45 (42.1%)
107
19 (19.2%)
50
(50.5%)
17 (17.2%)
13 (13.1%)
99
Public notice of plagiarism
Code of Ethics

Many professions have a professional
“code of ethics”. Do you think the
economics profession would benefit from
such a code?
Yes
No
Responses
All
63
(67%)
31
(33%)
94
List of 20
10
(58.8%)
7
(41.2%)
17
Information about the
Respondents
INFORMATION ABOUT
RESPONDENTS
Academic
970
0.80
Assistant
Professor
259
0.26
Associate
Professor
245
0.25
Full Professor
412
0.42
49
0.05
Instructor/Lecturer
Nonacademics
# of
Government
Nonacademics
# of Private
Sector
Nonacademics
# of Other
Nonacademics
241
111
82
46
(19.9%)
(46.3%)
(34.2%)
(19.2%)
Information about the
Respondents
JEL Listed Articles
Non JEL
Listed
Articles
Books
Book Chapters
Referee
Number
Other
1960-1969
46.541
43.1273
7.5091
13.6538
30
8.4426
1970-1979
27.9713
19.7284
3.1316
10.2805
21.4412
10.1359
1980-1989
18.751
12.4017
1.7947
6.5921
11.4261
9.4774
1990-1999
9.9215
7.1325
1.1377
3.8957
6.9749
7.0422
2000-2004
3.0792
2.6131
0.425
1.285
1.9844
3.7619
Ever Plagiarized by Decade
Decade of Receiving PhD
Number and Percentage of
Receiving PhD
Ever been plagiarized by decade
1960-1969
65
27
(5.43%)
(9.4%)
187
57
(15.6%)
(19.8%)
272
72
(22.7%)
(25%)
413
91
(34.5%)
(31.6%)
261
41
(21.8%)
(14.2%)
1198
288
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
2000-2004
Total
Which of the Following Constitute
Plagiarism? (All)
Unattributed sentences
Unattributed proof from working
paper
Unattributed proof from published
paper
Unattributed idea
Use of privately collected data
Not at all
Not Likely
Likely
Definitely
Total
34
200
504
470
1208
(2.8%)
(16.6%)
(41.7%)
(38.9%)
30
80
428
668
(2.5%)
(16.6%)
(41.7%)
(38.9%)
26
58
330
785
(2.2 %)
(4.8%)
(27.5%)
(65.5%)
36
387
552
223
(3.0%)
(32.3%)
(46.1%)
(18.6%)
92
201
375
525
(7.7%)
(16.8%)
(31.4%)
44.0(%)
1207
1199
1198
1193
In a Clear Case Of Plagiarism, Which Of the
Following Are Appropriate Responses
Notify the original author (if possible)
Notify plagiarist's department chair, dean,
provost,
Ban future submissions to journal from
plagiarist
Public notice of plagiarism
Not at All
Not Likely
Likely
Definitely
Total
21
49
300
833
1203
1.75%
4.07%
24.94%
69.24%
48
260
515
367
4.03%
21.85%
43.28%
30.84%
58
274
474
383
4.88%
23.04%
39.87%
32.21%
109
482
376
209
9.27%
40.99%
31.97%
17.77%
1190
1189
1176
Which of the Following Constitute
Plagiarism? (Outside US)
Unattributed sentences
Unattributed proof from working paper
Unattributed proof from published paper
Unattributed idea
Use of privately collected data
Not at all
Not Likely
Likely
Definitely
Total
21
78
199
143
441
(4.8%)
(17.7%)
(45.1%)
(32.4%)
14
31
141
255
(3.2%)
(7.0%)
(32.0%)
(57.8%)
12
23
108
294
(2.8%)
(5.3%)
(24.8%)
(67.4%)
16
108
207
104
(3.7%)
(24.9%)
(47.7%)
(24.0%)
29
68
145
194
(6.7%)
(15.6%)
(33.3%)
(44.5%)
441
436
434
436
Code of Ethics

“Clear statement regarding what does and what
does not constitute plagiarism; consistent standards
across journals/institutions for dealing with
plagiarism so that individuals know a) what the
consequences are, and b) how to deal with the
situation.”
Code of ethics
yes
no
total
798
391
1189
(67.1%)
(32.9%)