New York City’s Conflicts of Interest Law: Compliance Versus Ethical Capacity

Abstract

Using the municipal government example of New York City as a point of reference, this article pursues a critical understanding of the break between compliance-based approaches and theoretically preferred methods of increasing ethical integrity in the public sector. In doing so it explores the ethical aspects emphasized by the New York City conflicts of interest program and what the program suggests about the understanding that exists between government and the public. Legal documents and official guidance are subjected to qualitative analysis utilizing a multistage cycle of coding. The results demonstrate that the documents emphasize prohibited behaviors and examples of what not to do, rather than a more deeply rooted or individually focused ethical scheme. The discussion concludes that reliance on compliance approaches fails to address ethical capacity and is symptomatic of the rift between a disheartened public and its government.