It’s possible. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that in the wake of the popularity of “Inside Job,” which “exposed ties between financial firms and academia,” Columbia and other Ivy League schools are ordering more sunlight on outside compensation for their professors.
The film asserts that Columbia finance professor Frederic Mishkin wrote a positive paper about Iceland’s economy in 2006 after receiving $124,000 from that country’s chamber of commerce. Mishkin didn’t disclose the payment in the paper, according to the film. In 2008, Iceland’s banking industry collapsed, defaulting on $85 billion.
Under the 2009 university rules, Mishkin would have had to reveal that financial connection in the paper, says Gita Johar, a business school dean. The new business school rules taking effect this year would also require him to post them in his online résumé. Mishkin didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Speaking of more sunlight, it might make sense for those schools and others to do more to publicize what those professors are teaching their students.
