Ethical standards as public goods: the issue of economic development[Les normes éthiques comme biens publics : la question du développement économique]

The economic ethics tries to define common rules relative to the economic system. Thus, the ethics formalization is at issue, so that ethics can be integrated at firm level. Ethical standard, as a specific tool of formalization, compromises between a responsible behaviour, a state of technique and economic constraints. Ethical standard is relevant because it represents a particular way of economic coordination. Consequently, it is interesting to analyse standards' nature : ethical standards can be analysed as public goods, or more precisely as dual public goods. Then, this leads to study the impact of ethical standards in terms of development. Finally, it seems necessary to focus on the broader issue of ethical standards' legitimacy, at national and international level.