<p>Elastic boycotting would imply that the number of consumers boycotting would increase by more than 1% when unethicalness increases by 1%. A proper answer is nigh-on-impossible, as it is difficult to measure these things quantitatively.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How do you measure unethicalness? Also, unethical according to whom? I think most will aggree that slave labor is unethical, but what else is? Is underpaid labor unethical? Is factory farming unethical? How much more unethical is one than the other?</p>
</li>
<li><p>The number of consumers boycotting can perhaps be measured, but this would still require more precision. If governments prohibit imports, is that their consumers' boycott? If the consumers do not boycott, but only because they do not know about the unethical practices, is that inelasticity or just lack of information?</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T10:07:38.330Z
+1 because these are important points for the OP, although this is more of an comment on problems with the Q rather than an answer
1muflon1
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T18:43:24.740Z
@1muflon1 At most this is an impossibilty proof :) but I also think of it as a long comment rather than an answer.
Giskard
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-17T00:13:25.740Z
@Giskard I didn't want to compete against such a good answer, so I am adding a comment.  In the 90s, Barrons ran an article on "ethical portfolios."  Prudential had a person whose sole job was to construct ethical portfolios for high net wealth patrons.  The range of requests as to what was ethical was astounding.  One patron wanted to avoid stocks that developed drugs to treat or cure HIV. The owner felt that AIDS was a curse by god and that anything that killed gay people was good. So, they built such a portfolio. There were other eye popping requests too.
Dave Harris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-17T00:18:07.120Z
One thing that could be done to narrow this question is to perform event studies, but the criteria would have to be very strongly bounded. It is a question that can be studied if it can be better defined.  I looked, there is a body of research, but it isn't amenable to the form of the question.
Dave Harris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-17T04:21:28.447Z
@DaveHarris these comments are really helpful. What search terms did you use?
PineappleThursday
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-17T14:53:23.483Z
@PineappleThursday I didn't search it.  I read the article when it was published.  I have read about one book per week for 37 years and over a thousand academic papers.  I just remember them. I am pretty certain it was Barrons because of the weird size of the paper. I remember FT articles because they are pink.  There is a chance, but unlikely, that it was a WSJ article.  I know it was in the 90s because I remember which library I read it in.  It was also while I worked as a broker, which is what attracted me to the article.
Dave Harris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T06:13:00.653Z
2021-03-16T07:11:27.720Z
2021-03-16T07:11:27.720Z
Giskard
<p>Do markets respond by naturally boycotting unethical companies? For example, if an American company makes its products using Uyghur labor, can we trust their customers and would-be customers to respond in an elastic way so that there is an incentive to produce and operate ethically?</p>
<p>All I'm interested in is whether stock price and sales deviate from what would otherwise be predicted in a quantitative model as a response to news about supply chains, or other issues (e.g. mishandling of consumer data or data breaches).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T10:06:34.203Z
Welcome to Economics:SE. Thank you for your question; please consider revising it to be more in line with our community expectations. Like many other stacks, [we expect questions to provide evidence of prior research](https://economics.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask). That helps us to understand the question, and avoids our repeating work you've already done. Our [help center](https://economics.stackexchange.com/help), and [other stacks](https://interpersonal.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/3224/how-do-i-write-a-good-question) provide additional resources to assist with revisions
1muflon1
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T10:06:55.687Z
In addition, this question needs more details and clarity (see points in Giskard’s answer)
1muflon1
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T22:43:37.023Z
Ethics are notoriously difficult to quantify. I don't believe we need to quantify them to answer this question. Who's waiting for a quantified system of ethics to enact policy that assumes an answer to this question?
PineappleThursday
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T22:46:11.640Z
if you can’t define what is ethical and what is not this question is unanswerable. How can you begin to measure elasticity of something you are not able to define? This is problem with the question as it is
1muflon1
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T22:48:23.757Z
You're confusing not being able to mathematize ethics with not having a system of ethics at all.

I don't doubt that the question could be better phrased. I wasn't expecting a simple answer. I'm wondering how to better phrase the question myself. I just wanted to bounce ideas off of this community.

If I were able to have a quantified system of ethics, I'd pick either R or Python and determine the answer myself. We're economists, not calculators.
PineappleThursday
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T22:55:35.663Z
what systems of ethics do you have? Virtue ethics? Deontological ethics? Utilitarian ethics? Kantian imperative? 1. Unless you define what system of ethics you want to follow this is unanswerable. Any action imaginable is ethical under *some* ethical system. Do you think that the tribe of cannibals thinks they act unethically when they consume human flesh or that Vikings thought pillaging monasteries and taking slaves was unethical? The problem is not **just** that you are not offering no way of measuring ethicness (prerequisite for calculating demand elasticity with respect to it)
1muflon1
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T22:58:35.680Z
If you pin this question on developing an entirely common system of ethics, you will dismiss what is an important question. All I'm interested in is whether stock price and sales deviate from what would otherwise be predicted in a quantitative model as a response to news about supply chains, or other issues (e.g. mishandling of consumer data or data breaches). Even if a minority of individuals found some gray area there, it would not nullify the objective issue of how markets respond.
PineappleThursday
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T23:03:12.143Z
then you should consider replacing ethically in your question about ethics with this - it’s still bit broad but at least it would in principle be answerable provided you properly define types of events you are talking about
1muflon1
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T23:04:04.480Z
That's actually quite helpful. I'll do as you suggest.
PineappleThursday
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T23:11:24.183Z
please read the tag for nonexpert question it does not refer to you as a person but to the content of the question. If your question does not contain formal econ or econometric model or is not about implementation of these with programs or does not contain references to literature it will be tagged as nonexpert. Also the question was not tagged by me but other user. In addition mind the code of conduct, be polite to others we treat you with respect any site has some rules, one of the rules here is that question failing  that criteria get this tag so professional users can decide to mute them
1muflon1
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-17T00:00:53.770Z
Ok. I disagree with that rule on a philosophical level, but I appreciate your composed answer. Perhaps a better tag would be "qualitative", rather than something as pejorative as "nonexpert".
PineappleThursday
<markets><efficient-markets>
How elastic are markets with regards to unethical companies?
PineappleThursday
# How elastic are markets with regards to unethical companies?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-16)

Do markets respond by naturally boycotting unethical companies? For example, if an American company makes its products using Uyghur labor, can we trust their customers and would-be customers to respond in an elastic way so that there is an incentive to produce and operate ethically?

All I'm interested in is whether stock price and sales deviate from what would otherwise be predicted in a quantitative model as a response to news about supply chains, or other issues (e.g. mishandling of consumer data or data breaches).

**Tags:** markets, efficient-markets

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Welcome to Economics:SE. Thank you for your question; please consider revising it to be more in line with our community expectations. Like many other stacks, [we expect questions to provide evidence of prior research](https://economics.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask). That helps us to understand the question, and avoids our repeating work you've already done. Our [help center](https://economics.stackexchange.com/help), and [other stacks](https://interpersonal.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/3224/how-do-i-write-a-good-question) provide additional resources to assist with revisions  
> **username_1**: In addition, this question needs more details and clarity (see points in username_2’s answer)  
> **username_0**: Ethics are notoriously difficult to quantify. I don't believe we need to quantify them to answer this question. Who's waiting for a quantified system of ethics to enact policy that assumes an answer to this question?  
> **username_1**: if you can’t define what is ethical and what is not this question is unanswerable. How can you begin to measure elasticity of something you are not able to define? This is problem with the question as it is  
> **username_0**: You're confusing not being able to mathematize ethics with not having a system of ethics at all.  I don't doubt that the question could be better phrased. I wasn't expecting a simple answer. I'm wondering how to better phrase the question myself. I just wanted to bounce ideas off of this community.  If I were able to have a quantified system of ethics, I'd pick either R or Python and determine the answer myself. We're economists, not calculators.  
> **username_1**: what systems of ethics do you have? Virtue ethics? Deontological ethics? Utilitarian ethics? Kantian imperative? 1. Unless you define what system of ethics you want to follow this is unanswerable. Any action imaginable is ethical under *some* ethical system. Do you think that the tribe of cannibals thinks they act unethically when they consume human flesh or that Vikings thought pillaging monasteries and taking slaves was unethical? The problem is not **just** that you are not offering no way of measuring ethicness (prerequisite for calculating demand elasticity with respect to it)  
> **username_0**: If you pin this question on developing an entirely common system of ethics, you will dismiss what is an important question. All I'm interested in is whether stock price and sales deviate from what would otherwise be predicted in a quantitative model as a response to news about supply chains, or other issues (e.g. mishandling of consumer data or data breaches). Even if a minority of individuals found some gray area there, it would not nullify the objective issue of how markets respond.  
> **username_1**: then you should consider replacing ethically in your question about ethics with this - it’s still bit broad but at least it would in principle be answerable provided you properly define types of events you are talking about  
> **username_0**: That's actually quite helpful. I'll do as you suggest.  
> **username_1**: please read the tag for nonexpert question it does not refer to you as a person but to the content of the question. If your question does not contain formal econ or econometric model or is not about implementation of these with programs or does not contain references to literature it will be tagged as nonexpert. Also the question was not tagged by me but other user. In addition mind the code of conduct, be polite to others we treat you with respect any site has some rules, one of the rules here is that question failing  that criteria get this tag so professional users can decide to mute them  
> **username_0**: Ok. I disagree with that rule on a philosophical level, but I appreciate your composed answer. Perhaps a better tag would be "qualitative", rather than something as pejorative as "nonexpert".  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-03-16. Score: 1

Elastic boycotting would imply that the number of consumers boycotting would increase by more than 1% when unethicalness increases by 1%. A proper answer is nigh-on-impossible, as it is difficult to measure these things quantitatively.

1. How do you measure unethicalness? Also, unethical according to whom? I think most will aggree that slave labor is unethical, but what else is? Is underpaid labor unethical? Is factory farming unethical? How much more unethical is one than the other?
2. The number of consumers boycotting can perhaps be measured, but this would still require more precision. If governments prohibit imports, is that their consumers' boycott? If the consumers do not boycott, but only because they do not know about the unethical practices, is that inelasticity or just lack of information?

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: +1 because these are important points for the OP, although this is more of an comment on problems with the Q rather than an answer  
> **username_2**: @username_1 At most this is an impossibilty proof :) but I also think of it as a long comment rather than an answer.  
> **username_3**: @username_2 I didn't want to compete against such a good answer, so I am adding a comment.  In the 90s, Barrons ran an article on "ethical portfolios."  Prudential had a person whose sole job was to construct ethical portfolios for high net wealth patrons.  The range of requests as to what was ethical was astounding.  One patron wanted to avoid stocks that developed drugs to treat or cure HIV. The owner felt that AIDS was a curse by god and that anything that killed gay people was good. So, they built such a portfolio. There were other eye popping requests too.  
> **username_3**: One thing that could be done to narrow this question is to perform event studies, but the criteria would have to be very strongly bounded. It is a question that can be studied if it can be better defined.  I looked, there is a body of research, but it isn't amenable to the form of the question.  
> **username_0**: @username_3 these comments are really helpful. What search terms did you use?  
> **username_3**: @username_0 I didn't search it.  I read the article when it was published.  I have read about one book per week for 37 years and over a thousand academic papers.  I just remember them. I am pretty certain it was Barrons because of the weird size of the paper. I remember FT articles because they are pink.  There is a chance, but unlikely, that it was a WSJ article.  I know it was in the 90s because I remember which library I read it in.  It was also while I worked as a broker, which is what attracted me to the article.  

---

