HES Policies

Adopted at General Meeting of the Society, June 18, 2022, and amended July 16 2024

I. Preamble

Since its formal establishment in 1974, the History of Economics Society has committed itself to encouraging interest, fostering scholarship, and promoting discussion among scholars and professionals in the field of the history of economics and related disciplines. Promoting the study and development of the history of economics requires a culture in which all professional activities, including research, education, advice, and communication more generally, are undertaken collegially, ethically, and with integrity. The Society expects its members to adhere to the high professional standards that this requires and to encourage others associated with the study of the history of economics to do the same. The Society also sets these standards for itself, and hence the code of conduct applies to all involved as members or associated with the Society or the Journal of the History of Economic Thought through events or other activities in person or online.

II. Nondiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Standards

A. Research should be conducted and presented with honesty, care, and transparency, in compliance with legal requirements, acknowledging limits of expertise and giving due credit to the contributions of others. The provision of advice and other communications should also adhere to these standards. Students at all levels should be treated fairly and with respect. Any real or perceived conflicts of interest should be disclosed in all activities.

B. The History of Economics Society seeks a professional environment where equal opportunity and fair treatment apply regardless of characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, age, disability, political or religious views, status, affiliations or relationships. Discourse in all forums should be conducted with civility and respect, with each idea or contribution considered on its merits. We acknowledge that racist and sexist images or textual passages are part of the past of economics. As historians, we take responsibility for contextualizing such materials.

C. Under no circumstances will bullying or harassment of any kind be tolerated. Harassment includes offensive verbal comments, deliberate intimidation, stalking, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of events, inappropriate physical contact, or unwelcome sexual attention.

III. Reporting

A. If an individual or group of individuals believes that they have experienced or observed any violation of this policy at a Society meeting or event or in its journal, the person or group should consult the Ombudsperson appointed by the Society. The Ombudsperson shall listen to the grievance, describe the policy and procedures, outline issues of privacy and confidentiality, and discuss possible courses of action regarding the filing or non-filing of a formal complaint. The Ombudsperson shall make all reasonable efforts to maintain in strict confidence the identity of individuals reporting an incident and the person or persons implicated in an incident. The Ombudsperson shall prepare for the Executive Committee annually an aggregate, anonymized summary of all such reported incidents. Although anyone may seek advice from the Ombudsperson, in the case of harassment only the individual or individuals alleging that they have been harassed may file a formal complaint to the Respectful Behavior Committee.

B. Any real or perceived conflict of interest should be disclosed upon the reception of the complaint. If any member of the Respectful Behavior Committee has a personal or professional interest that could potentially influence their judgment or decision-making, they must declare it and recuse themselves from any involvement with the review or investigation of the complaint. The President of the Society will appoint the necessary replacement members. These members will participate only in the specific complaint under review.

C. If an individual elects to file a formal complaint, that person must describe the incident in a nonconfidential written statement delivered to the Respectful Behavior Committee preferably immediately following the incident. The Respectful Behavior Committee will generally not investigate conduct occurring more than sixty (60) calendar days prior to the date of the report unless it determines that the reasons for the delay in reporting are justified.

D. The Respectful Behavior Committee will provide an anonymized version to the accused party or parties within 20 calendar days. The accused party may elect to file a written response with the Respectful Behavior Committee within sixty (60) calendar days of receipt of the initial written complaint.

E. The Chair of the Respectful Behavior Committee shall first consult with the complainant to ascertain whether they would be open to meeting with the accused party or parties and the members of the Respectful Behavior Committee. This consultation aims to explore the possibility of a mutually acceptable solution. Through this dialogue, the Chair will facilitate a discussion to determine if a resolution acceptable to both parties can be found.

F. If the complainant is not willing to participate in this meeting or if no mutually acceptable resolution can be found, the Respectful Behavior Review Committee shall decide if the incident constituted a violation under the terms of this Policy. To this end, the Respectful Behavior Committee can gather the necessary information by interviewing witnesses and by reviewing any pertinent documents to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the incident. If the Respectful Behavior Committee determines the incident constituted a violation, it shall furnish a report of the incident, its findings, and a recommended sanction, if any, to the Secretary of the Society within sixty (60) calendar days of receiving the accused party’s response, and no later than 120 days after receiving the initial complaint if the accused party(s) did not respond.

IV. Sanctions

A. The Executive Committee shall then consider the case and, if at all possible, come to a final decision within sixty (60) calendar days of receiving the report from the Respectful Behavior Committee. If any member of the Executive Committee has a personal or professional interest that could potentially influence their judgment or decision-making, they must declare it and recuse themselves from any involvement with the review or investigation of the complaint. The President of the Society will appoint replacement members if necessary, and if the President recuses themselves, the Past President shall assume the responsibilities of the President. These members will participate only in the specific complaint under review.

B. If a majority of the voting and nonvoting Executive Committee concurs with the recommendations of the Respectful Behavior Committee, the Society’s Executive Committee shall issue a written reprimand including any sanctions banning the individual from future meetings and/or revoking the individual’s membership, which may be permanent or temporary. The Society’s Secretary will report the outcome to all parties involved.

C. The severity of the violation will influence the sanction recommended by the Respectful Behavior Committee or imposed by the Executive Committee. Additionally, considerations include the context of the conduct and its connection to the Society’s core activities, whether the alleged conduct predates the adoption of the Code of Conduct, whether it caused significant professional or personal harm to a complainant, and whether it harmed the reputation of the Society or its members’ scholarly and professional activities. The level of cooperation from the individual facing potential sanctions will also be considered, alongside any other factors deemed appropriate and relevant by the Respectful Behavior Committee or the Executive Committee.

V. Confidentiality

A. All officers of the Society and members of the Respectful Behavior Review Committee will observe strict confidentiality when handling reports of potential discrimination, harassment, or any behavior that may be deemed disrespectful. This ensures that all information, discussions, and identities related to investigations or complaints remain confidential, safeguarding the privacy and reputations of involved parties. Disclosure of such information is limited to instances mandated by law or necessary for the equitable resolution of the matter.

B. During the review of a Complaint, all parties and witnesses are encouraged to maintain confidentiality to ensure the integrity of the investigation. However, it should be noted that anonymity for parties and witnesses cannot be guaranteed despite these confidentiality measures.

Contact the Society Ombudsperson: ombudshes@historyofeconomics.org
Contact the Society’s Secretary: secretary@historyofeconomics.org

The History of Economics Society (the organization) requires officers and employees to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. As employees and representatives of the organization, we must practice honesty and integrity in fulfilling our responsibilities and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

Reporting Responsibility

This Whistleblower Policy is intended to encourage and enable employees and society members to raise serious concerns internally so that the organization can address and correct inappropriate conduct and actions. It is the responsibility of all Executive Committee members, officers, employees and volunteers to report concerns about violations of the organization’s code of ethics or suspected violations of law or regulations that govern the organization.

No Retaliation

It is contrary to the values of the organization for anyone to retaliate against any Executive Committee member, officer, employee or volunteer who in good faith reports an ethics violation, or a suspected violation of law, such as a complaint of discrimination, or suspected fraud, or suspected violation of any regulation governing the operations of the organization. An individual who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to discipline up to and including termination of employment.

Reporting Procedure

The organization has an open-door policy and suggests that individuals share their questions, concerns, suggestions or complaints with a member of the Executive Committee. Committee members are required to report complaints or concerns about suspected ethical and legal violations in writing to the the full Executive Committee, who has the responsibility to investigate all reported complaints.

The organization’s Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring that all complaints about unethical or illegal conduct are investigated and resolved. The committee will resolve complaints on an as-needed basis; especially on matters pertaining to compliance activity relating to accounting or alleged financial improprieties.

Acting in Good Faith

Anyone filing a written complaint concerning a violation or suspected violation must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.

Confidentiality

Violations or suspected violations may be submitted on a confidential basis by the complainant. Reports of violations or suspected violations will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation.

Handling of Reported Violations

The organization’s Executive Committee will notify the person who submitted a complaint and acknowledge receipt of the reported violation or suspected violation. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective action will be taken if warranted by the investigation.[/toggle]

Definition: A conflict of interest is defined as an actual or perceived interest by a staff member or society member in an action that results in, or has the appearance of resulting in, personal, organizational, or professional gain.

Disclosure: Any possible conflict of interest must be disclosed to the Executive Committee by the person or persons concerned. An unannounced conflict of interest may be made known by any person to the Executive Committee at any time by any means of communication.

Record of Conflict: The nature of all conflicts of interest, and the resulting mitigations and actions taken by the society and any other person involved in the conflict, will be documented in the society’s records, including meeting minutes.

Committee of Action: When a conflict of interest is relevant to a matter requiring action by theExecutive Committee, the interested person(s) will call it to the attention of the society and the interested person will be prohibited from voting on the matter. The Executive Committee may recuse a person in the case of a conflict by majority vote.

Document Destruction

The Document Retention and Destruction Policy identifies the record retention responsibilities of staff, volunteers, members of the Executive Committee, and outsiders for maintaining and documenting the storage and destruction of the society’s documents and records.

The society’s staff, volunteers, members of the Executive Committee, committee members and outsiders (independent contractors via agreements with them) are required to honor the following rules:

a. Paper or electronic documents indicated under the terms for retention in the following section will be transferred and maintained by the Secretary on behalf of the Executive Committee;

b. No paper or electronic documents will be destroyed or deleted if pertinent to any ongoing or anticipated government investigation or proceeding or private litigation (check with legal counsel or the human resources department for any current or foreseen litigation if employees have not been notified); and

c. No paper or electronic documents will be destroyed or deleted as required to comply with government auditing standards (Single Audit Act).

d. The Secretary, in conjunction with the society manager, is responsible for depositing nonfinancial documents in the society’s archives on a regular basis.

e. The Treasurer, in conjunction with the society manager and accountants, is responsible for depositing financial documents in the society’s archives on a regular basis.

Record Retention

The following table indicates the minimum requirements from the National Council of Nonprofits and is provided as guidance in determining the document retention policy.

Type of Document	Minimum Requirement
Accounts payable ledgers and schedules	7 years
Audit reports	Permanently
Bank reconciliations	2 years
Bank statements	3 years
Checks (for important payments and purchases)	Permanently
Contracts, mortgages, notes, and leases (expired)	7 years
Contracts (still in effect)	Contract period
Correspondence (general)	2 years
Correspondence (legal and important matters)	Permanently
Correspondence (with customers and vendors)	2 years
Deeds, mortgages, and bills of sale	Permanently
Depreciation schedules	Permanently
Duplicate deposit slips	2 years
Employment applications	3 years
Expense analyses/expense distribution schedules	7 years
Year-end financial statements	Permanently
Insurance records, current accident reports, claims, policies, and so on (active and expired)	Permanently
Internal audit reports	3 years
Inventory records for products, materials, and supplies	3 years
Invoices (to customers, from vendors)	7 years
Minute books, bylaws, and charter	Permanently
Patents and related papers	Permanently
Payroll records and summaries	7 years
Personnel files (terminated employees)	7 years
Retirement and pension records	Permanently
Tax returns and worksheets	Permanently
Timesheets	7 years
Trademark registrations and copyrights	Permanently
Withholding tax statements	7 years

The undersigned officers of the HES condemn the deaths of Black people in police custody and the systemic racism that permits political, economic, social and physical violence. We acknowledge our special responsibility, as historians of economics, to educate ourselves and others about the roles played by racism, colonialism and other forms of bias in shaping the concepts, practices, agendas and professional institutions of economists and social scientists throughout history.

The pursuit of historical knowledge leaves no room for the silencing or marginalization of any individuals or communities. Therefore, we commit ourselves to taking concrete steps to foster diversity and inclusion in our Society and its activities. We pledge to support and encourage scholarship that brings new frames of reference to the history of economics. We will listen respectfully, engage honestly and amplify the voices of those who draw our attention to the ways that biases are perpetuated in our Society and our discipline. We will build on efforts to diversify our program and awards committees and the editorial board of the Journal of the History of Economic Thought, and we will encourage journal submissions that bring new perspectives to the past.

We commit to using our journal, conferences and other resources to further these important lines of inquiry. We will encourage critical conversations about our methods and practices that open our discipline to histories that have so far been ignored. We pledge to educate ourselves and to curate critical reading lists that support inclusive curricula, and we ask other historians of economics to make a similar commitment. We look forward to the development of richer and more comprehensive histories of economics.

Marcel Boumans, HES President

Irwin Collier

Ross Emmett

Evelyn Forget

Marianne Johnson

Tom Stapleford

Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak

Pedro Garcia Duarte, co-editor JHET

Jimena Hurtado Prieto, co-editor JHET

Humberto Barreto, Moderator of the SHOE discussion list

Erich Pinzón Fuchs, Digital Information Manager

In 2018, the HES hosted an informal breakfast for individuals interested in a range of issues associated with (1) fostering greater diversity in the history of economics (broadly defined), (2) improving the experiences of women, parents, and nontraditional groups in the academic societies of the history of economic thought, and (3) improving and expanding  scholarship on topics such as gender, race, and decolonialism. In 2019, Cambridge University Press sponsored a lunch at the annual HES conference where the discussion continued. In 2020, a series of virtual meetings were organized and a list of Women Historians of Economics that everybody should follow on Twitter was put together.

The History of Economics Diversity Caucus was created the 7th July, 2020. This is a group independent of the executive committees of other societies.    To learn more about the History of Economics Diversity Caucus, please visit the website of the group at https://sites.google.com/view/diversityhet.

If you are interested in being on the mailing list, please contact diversityhet@gmail.com.