Department of Economics

Department of Economics

Founded in 1903, our department is well-known for the excellence of its teaching and advising, with a strong reputation for producing outstanding Ph.D. graduates, as well as rigorous and innovative economic research. We are consistently ranked among the world’s leading departments.

On the forefront in research

The impact Berkeley faculty have had on various fields of economics has been enormous. Our department is currently at the forefront of many exciting new developments in economics:

5 Nobel Prizes
5 John Bates Clark Medals
2 MacArthur Foundation Fellows
25 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships (an average of one per year since 1995)
1 Fisher-Black Prize

Excellence in Teaching

Carol D. Soc Distinguished Graduate Student Mentoring Award: Professor David Card (2017); Professor Edward Miguel (2015).
Division of Social Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award: Professor Martha Olney (2016); Professor David Romer (2014).
Campus: Distinguished Teaching Award: Professor Ulrike Malmendier (2015)

Our roster just got bigger

This year we are pleased to add Professors Emi Nakamura and Jon Steinsson to our dynamic and diverse faculty.

Recent faculty hires include Dmitry Taubinsky and Supreet Kaur.

News and Announcements

Generous support from the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation establishes a new center for Wealth and Income Inequality at the Department of Economics. The center will be led by Gabriel Zucman, professor of economics and public policy at UC Berkeley, and Emmanuel Saez, professor of economics and director of Berkeley’s Center for Equitable Growth. Read more

Photo curtesy of Noah Berger/ The Chronicle

Berkeley Economics Professor Emi Nakamura's interview with The Chronicle about her research, the importance of the Federal Reserve, and women in the economics field. Read more

Announcing the 2019 class of academic grants and grantees from the Washington Center for equitable Growth: This year, more than $1 million in grants will be awarded to 33 U.S. scholars and 15 doctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars researching key issues related to economic inequality and growth. Congratulations to Berkeley Economics faculty and doctoral students: Hilary Hoynes, Benjamin Schoefer, Ellora Derenoncour, Ingrid Haegele, and Krista Ruffini, who will receive funding to support research on inequality. Read more

Former IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld and NatAlliance Securities’ Andy Brenner discuss President Trump’s attack against the Federal Reserve amid trade war worries. View the video via Fox Business

Coming up on September 13: Conversation with Nobel Prize Laureate José Manuel Barroso, former president of the European Commission and former prime minister. Barroso will discuss economic and political changes and challenges facing Europe. Barroso will be joined on stage by Berkeley Economics Professor Maurice Obstfeld and Institute of European Studies Director Jeroen Dewulf. Presented by the Clausen Center for International Business and Policy and the European Union Center. Read more

Inequality is worse than economists previously thought, according to Berkeley Economics professor Gabriel Zucman and fellow researchers. Their work shows how much standard measurements are off when tax evasion is taken into account. Read more about their research, featured in the June issue of The American Economic Review. Read more

Research and Teaching

We're proud to share that Berkeley Economics professors Emi Nakamura and Chris Shannon were elected to join The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of individuals in academia, the arts, business, government,and public affairs. Congratulations! To learn more about their work and of all UC Berkeley faculty members elected, read more.

We're thrilled to share that Berkeley Economics Prof. Emi Nakamura has been announced as the 2019 recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal! The prize is awarded to an American economist under the age of forty who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge. Read more

Congratulations to Berkeley Economics professors, Philpp Strack and Gabriel Zucman, for winning the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship! Read more.

Berkeley Economics Professor Yuri Gorodnichenko has been awarded 2018 Monetary Economics and Finance Prize, which distinguish researchers who have developed central concepts to improve our understanding of Monetary Economics and Finance. Read more

Economics Professors Supreet Kaur and Danny Yagan have been awarded 2018 Sloan Fellowships, which “honor early-career scholars whose achievements mark them as among the very best scientific minds working today."

Professor Barry Eichengreen discusses with QUARTZ the future of the dollar and global currencies. See also Professor Eichengreen's new book!

FEATURED ARTICLE

Professor Emmanuel Saez Awarded ERC Energy Grant

Professor Emmanuel Saez, Director of the Center for Equitable Growth, has been announced as one of the winners of a prestigious European Research Council Synergy grant. The ERC Synergy grants were awarded to 37 research groups to take on the biggest challenges.