December 7, 2009 12:30PM 

# Climategate and Development Economics 

By [Ian Vásquez](https://www.cato.org/people/ian-vasquez) 

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As the Copenhagen summit on global warming opens today, development economist Bill Easterly [laments](http://aidwatchers.com/2009/12/copenhagen-special-climategate-and-the-tragic-consequences-of-breaching-scientific-trust/) the intellectual corruption affecting climate science and compares it to the state of affairs in the field of development economics:

> The analogy that got me interested in Climategate is of course with social science in development, where the problem is vastly worse. Advocacy on global poverty distorts everything from the data to the econometrics, as [this blog frequently complains](http://aidwatchers.com/2009/10/the-political-economy-of-aid-optimism-or-pessimism/), so that credibility of development social scientists is sinking to dangerously low levels. It’s so bad that there is never a “Povertygate” scandal, because “Povertygate” is the norm rather than the exception.

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