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> One report by a French academic, who asked for a €100,000 consultancy fee, was cited in a 2016 Financial Times report as evidence that Uber was a “route out of the French banlieues”, delighting Uber executives.

> In France, the €100,000 consultancy arrangement was negotiated with a rising star of university economics, Prof Augustin Landier of the Toulouse School of Economics. Landier agreed to produce a report that he described in emails to Uber’s policy and communications team as “actionable for direct PR to prove Uber’s positive economic role”.

Talk about nearly legalized corruption. I wonder which other studies we currently cite is also tainted..

The problem is this kind of payment doesn't necessarily mean the results of the research are wrong or fabricated - but at the same time they might be.
True, payment doesn't necessarily mean it's a warped study. But, they should at least be required by law to disclose the monetary conflict of interest, so readers can give it more scrutiny.
It's the market self regulating itself /s