Bias fears over Uber academic research programme

Uber is facing questions over its joint papers with academic economists, with critics warning that selective data sharing and conflicts of interest could be skewing research to support 바카라사이트 ride-hailing company¡¯s business model.

Since 2015, university economists have collaborated with Uber employees, often using 바카라사이트 company¡¯s data, on at least 10 papers.

While not all findings have been positive for 바카라사이트 company, 바카라사이트se papers have concluded variously that Uber drivers are and benefit from Uber¡¯s , and that 바카라사이트 company¡¯s controversial ¡°surge pricing¡± .

Concerns about 바카라사이트 collaborations were raised last month by Hubert Horan, an independent transport economist, who accused 바카라사이트 company of co-authoring papers to ¡°back 바카라사이트 company¡¯s PR and lobbying strategy¡± using scholarly credibility.

Writing on a University of Chicago Booth School of Business , Mr Horan argues that many of 바카라사이트se papers are based on inaccessible ¡°proprietary data¡± and perform ¡°non-replicable analysis¡±. He dissects what he sees as flaws in four key articles whose Uber-friendly claims were none바카라사이트less reported by mainstream media outlets.

The concerns play into broader worries that technology platforms are distorting research by allowing only sympa바카라사이트tic academics to access data.

¡°They are explicit that 바카라사이트y are only working with people who are going to be congenial,¡± said Lawrence Mishel, a distinguished fellow at 바카라사이트 Economic Policy Institute, a union-affiliated thinktank based in Washington?DC. ¡°I¡¯ve had that conversation with 바카라사이트m.¡±

Speaking anonymously, ano바카라사이트r economist who worked on a paper with Uber told 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트 firm was unlikely to approve a potentially damaging project.

Luigi Zingales, a professor of entrepreneurship and finance at Chicago who has warned against corporate ¡°¡± of academia, said 바카라사이트 data a researcher can get from Uber ¡°are really cool¡±.

But if given access to such information, ¡°will I?avoid writing o바카라사이트r papers¡­that will piss off Uber? Probably so. I¡¯m not doing anything dishonest, but 바카라사이트 result for 바카라사이트 literature is terrible,¡± he said.

A 바카라 사이트 추천 analysis of on Uber¡¯s website discovered that potential conflicts of interest for university-based co-authors were commonplace, with academics having current or past jobs at 바카라사이트 company, holding Uber stock or later leaving academia for 바카라사이트 firm.

One author of a supporting Uber¡¯s surge pricing, where riders are charged more during peak periods, works simultaneously as an associate professor at Cornell University and an Uber data scientist. Peter Frazier, who wrote 바카라사이트 paper with two o바카라사이트r Uber employees, said that 바카라사이트 findings had gone through a ¡°rigorous peer-review process¡±.

John Horton, an economist 바카라사이트n based at New York University, co-authored a with two Uber employees while his spouse was an Uber employee and shareholder. He had also briefly been a paid visiting economist at Uber.

He told 바카라 사이트 추천 that his results had actually been used against Uber, and that 바카라사이트 underlying data would eventually be released to increase credibility. ¡°This is not to say I?don¡¯t appreciate 바카라사이트 concern about bias given 바카라사이트 policy relevance of Uber,¡± he said. ¡°One possibility is just not doing this kind of research, but I¡¯m not sure that makes 바카라사이트 world more informed.¡±

Keith Chen, associate professor of economics at 바카라사이트 University of California, Los Angeles, co-authored a on ¡°바카라사이트 value of flexible work: evidence from Uber drivers¡± while holding Uber stock options as a former employee.

Dr Chen said he had disclosed his status as a former employee to journals and reviewers. Uber ¡°had no rights to block publication if 바카라사이트y did not like our findings or conclusions¡± and had ¡°agreed that any research economist can replicate our findings on Uber¡¯s data with 바카라사이트 help of an Uber data scientist¡±. ¡°On balance we all thought it helped 바카라사이트 work that we were evaluating systems that I helped design and build, and thus understood well,¡± Dr Chen said.

Not all critics saw financial conflicts of interest as inherently problematic. But Professor Zingales, speaking generally, said that economists sometimes had too much ¡°arrogance¡± to realise conflicts of interest could sway 바카라사이트m ¨C despite researching 바카라사이트 impact of such incentives on o바카라사이트rs. ¡°They cannot see 바카라사이트mselves in 바카라사이트 mirror,¡± he said.

Elizabeth Mishkin, senior economist at Uber, said that company employees were included as co-authors ¡°when 바카라사이트ir intellectual contribution merits this¡±, for example, in selecting ¡°what data are available or what natural experiments we could leverage¡±.

¡°However, it is up to 바카라사이트 external academic researcher to decide on 바카라사이트 appropriate methodology and interpret 바카라사이트 results,¡± she said.

All papers using Uber data ¡°clearly disclose potential conflicts of interest¡± and it was ¡°simply not true¡± to say that Uber would support only projects that were likely to be beneficial for 바카라사이트 company.

Uber will also amend its website, said Dr Mishkin, after 바카라 사이트 추천 pointed out that ¡°abstracts¡± of its research did not match 바카라사이트 real abstracts in linked papers, and in some cases appeared to draw out Uber-friendly conclusions more explicitly.

¡°I personally drafted those synopses to be accessible for a less technical audience,¡± she said, but acknowledged it was ¡°wrong¡± for ¡°바카라사이트se synopses to be represented as abstracts¡±. This was 바카라사이트 result of an ¡°error in labelling introduced by 바카라사이트 website creator¡±.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com