BESI senior researcher Samuel Trachtman shares his top three takeaways from a recent panel discussion featuring California political scholars and practitioners.
Sam Trachtman is a senior researcher at BESI, where he leads the research program on the political economy of California. Sam completed his Ph.D. in political science in 2021 at UC Berkeley, where he honed skills in quantitative methods and policy-engaged empirical research. He has published widely in academic journals including American Political Science Review, Climatic Change, Governance, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Nature Energy, Public Opinion Quarterly, and Perspectives on Politics.
Related news
On November 13, BESI convened 26 experts on California politics and policy to discuss how to make California more affordable.
Senior researcher Samuel Trachtman reflects on a recent virtual convening with researchers and policymakers hosted by BESI.
Recent publications
White Paper
May 14, 2026
BESI senior researcher Sam Trachtman discusses recent policy progress in California on affordability and proposes several areas of continued policy reform as well as upstream institutional and strategic measures that can promote durable growth-promoting policy despite the difficult political challenges.
White Paper
March 12, 2026
California is less affordable and poorer than it should be given the strength of our economy. In Part 1 of our white paper series on making California more affordable, BESI researcher Sam Trachtman lays out the basics facts, including that California has the nation's highest poverty rate when accounting for cost of living.
Policy Brief
April 24, 2025
BESI Political Economy of California senior researcher Samuel Trachtman explains the red-blue state cost-of-living divide.