Provocation: Business schools and economic crisis – Why blame the business schools?

In his paper, Michael Haynes suggests that the way managers are educated has been a contributory factor in the current financial crisis. This paper argues that there are three much more important and powerful influences: economists, bankers and regulators. In examining the contribution of these three groups to the current crisis, their role in the rise and subsequent collapse of the so-called Celtic Tiger is also examined. It is argued that recent events have once again exposed major weaknesses in liberal capitalism and that if future financial crises on this scale are to be avoided, a way must be found to penalise failure and to regulate financial institutions effectively.