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.

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.

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)

News and Announcements

"Wealth is power. An extreme concentration of wealth means an extreme concentration of power: the power to influence government policy, the power to stifle competition, the power to shape ideology." Read the Boston Review Op-Ed by Berkeley Economics professors Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez.

The Association for Comparative Economic Studies (ACES) announced a Call for Applications for its first Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, established in recognition of the fundamental contributions of Berkeley Economics Professor Gerard Roland to the field. The fellowship will be awarded in the academic year 2020-2021. Read more

The Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) recently announced Berkeley Economics Professors Maurice Obstfeld and Christina Romer among the list of Distinguished Fellows. Distinguished Fellows can participate in research and policy conferences and advise CEPR leadership. Read more

Registration Open for Pacific Conference for the Development Economics (PacDev) which will take place at UC Berkeley on Mar. 14th, 2020. organized by the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA). Seating is limited- register here.

What's the most useful idea in economics? NPR's Planet covers the 2020 AEA conference, talking among others to Mary Daly's SF Feds, Prof. Lisa Cook (Ph.D. '97), Berkeley Economics Professor Brad Delong, and many others. Listen here

It is absurd that the working class is now paying higher tax rates than the richest people in America, argue Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman in this Op-Ed for the New York Times. Read more (Illustration by Alex Merto)

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."