A Brief History

Economics at the University of California didn’t even begin as “economics”. It was first known as “Political Economy” and claimed a single faculty member. Before 1903, all faculty who taught anything related to economics did so as members of the Departments of History or Political Science. In that year, the Department of Economics at U.C. Berkeley was born. Our penchant for innovation started right from our inception: we were one of the first departments in the United States to be so named.

From these modest beginnings, we have evolved into a globally acclaimed department with a powerful faculty contingent well-known for its creativity in the field. In addition to being on the forefront of research, our department is well-known for the excellence of its teaching and advising, with a strong reputation for producing innovative Ph.D. graduates.  Berkeley Economics has pioneered the advancement of women in academia, influenced the course of the University of California, and has helped shape the lives of generations of Berkeley students.  Today, the Department of Economics is one of the largest teaching and research departments at UC
Berkeley.

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In recent years, Berkeley Economics Ph.D.s have been hired at many other leading institutions, including Harvard, MIT, Yale,  the U.S. Federal Reserve and the World Bank. We are also consistently ranked among the world’s top research departments. To name but one well-known ranking, US News and World Report ranked Berkeley #3 among all U.S. Economics departments.

Achievements at a Glance

Prizes and awards our academics have achieved over the years

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Six Nobel Prizes

  • Gerard Debreu (awarded in 1983)
  • John Harsanyi (1994)
  • Dan McFadden (2000)
  • George Akerlof (2001)
  • Oliver Williamson (2009)
  • David Card (2021)
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Seven John Bates Clark Medals

  • Dale Jorgenson (awarded in 1971)
  • Dan McFadden (1975)
  • David Card (1995)
  • Matt Rabin (2001)
  • Emmanuel Saez (2009)
  • Emi Nakamura (2019)
  • Gabriel Zucman (2023)

See the following for a comprehensive list of awards for our Faculty.

Berkeley Economics faculty and students have done ground-breaking work in economic theory, econometrics, macroeconomics, and all major fields of applied research, and have served as policymakers at the highest levels, both in the U.S. and abroad. Looking forward to the academic year 2024-2025, we are pleased to welcome Assistant Professors Andreas Schaab (PhD 2021, Harvard University) and Chenzi Xu (PhD 2019, Harvard University) to our dynamic and diverse faculty.