Hard questions are our starting point.

The Berkeley Economy & Society Initiative (BESI) investigates political and economic power to reveal how these forces shape the practice of democracy and the pursuit of shared prosperity.

The latest at BESI

Big problems. Big ideas.

Our research focuses on some of the most urgent threats to genuine, sustainable, and broad-based prosperity: climate change, technological disruption, and the distortions and demands of unfettered capitalism. We have launched major new programs on the political economy of California and green industrial strategy.

Climate and Green Industrial Strategy

Under the right conditions, business and government collaboration can accelerate decarbonization by creating and scaling clean tech markets. We support the theoretical, empirical, and practical study of green industrial strategy through collaborations between scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.

Technology

For all its benefits, tech industry “disruption” has a pattern of concentrating economic power and wealth, sowing division, and undermining human autonomy and civic solidarity. Our distinctly political-economic approach identifies the institutional mechanisms that sustain the industry and trains a skeptical eye on the outcomes.

Capitalism and Democracy

Powerful economic interests play an outsized and skyrocketing role in politics, contributing to legislative collapse, rising discontent, and institutional crisis. Our research offers solutions for balancing the demands of capitalism with the imperative of democratic citizenship.

Political Economy of California

As California goes, so goes the nation. Our research and programs deliver insights to help California policymakers achieve critical reforms to expand shared prosperity.

Advancing the interdisciplinary study of political economy

BESI funds crucial discoveries at the doctoral level.

We’re proud to support the Designated Emphasis (DE) in Political Economy at UC Berkeley. DE students participate in vital discussions outside their home disciplines, enhancing dialogues and enabling research at the cutting edge of scholarship.

Learn about the DE

Research spotlight

Heavy industry workers on strike

Toward an interdisciplinary political economy of wages

In a November 2025 article for the journal Politics & Society, UC Berkeley Political Economy director and BESI steering committee member Steve Vogel argues that that economists should bring power into the heart of their analysis of wage formation.

A close-up view of wind turbines in the port of Amsterdam.

The geoeconomic turn in decarbonization

In this article, published in Nature, BESI Climate lead Jonas Meckling gives an account of a major shift in global decarbonization politics — from international cooperation on the costs of climate change mitigation to competition for the benefits of clean technologies.

A photo of Indian coal miners from a diary dating 1906-7.

Capital, earth, and image: Photography in India’s mining landscapes

In a new article for Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, environmental historian Matthew Shutzer traces how images of extractive technologies have shifted from thematizing social questions about labor and industrial capitalism to serving as representations of the ecological crises of the present.

Support our work.

Our work depends on philanthropic support and the generosity of donors. If you find our work valuable, we hope you’ll consider making a gift so our researchers can continue tackling the big questions.
Make a Gift

Upcoming events

Explore all events