BB90 Fund for Monetary Economics

New research is challenging the conventional wisdom around monetary economics. In response, UC Berkeley’s Department of Economics has launched an effort to research monetary policy in the digital age. The BB90 Fund for Monetary Economics, established through a generous gift from Brian Barish '90, provides research funding for faculty members and graduate students to study the effectiveness of emerging strategies used by financial regulators to influence economic behavior.

Monetary economics studies the conduct and effects of monetary policy, including the impacts on prices, wages, exchange rates, interest rates, and household savings. It also considers macroeconomic forces that affect central bank decisionmaking.

View the recipients of the BB90 Fund on the right to learn more about their innovative research.

2024 Recipients

Vitor Weiss Jung

Ph.D. student focusing on macroeconomics and behavioral economics
2024 BB90 Recipient

Brazil had a period of hyperinflation that lasted over 10 years during the 1990s. The Brazilian government resolved this issue by implementing the Real Plan, which involved introducing the Unidade Real de Valor (URV), a reference currency. Vitor Weiss Jung will study how the URV was used in...Read more about Vitor Weiss Jung

Chen Lian

Assistant professor of economics focusing on macroeconomics, monetary theory, behavioral economics, and finance
2024 BB90 Recipient
2023 BB90 Recipient

There are several macroeconomic theories on the relationship between fiscal deficits and inflation. Surveys indicate that Americans consider inflation to be one of the United States’ worst problems. Chen Lian will study the impact of fiscal deficits on inflation and why U.S. workers...Read more about Chen Lian

Peter Maxted

Assistant professor of finance
2024 BB90 Recipient

Non-income financial shocks are a significant cause of economic turmoil for households. Laura Waring and Peter Maxted will study how the processes of household expenditure shocks work on a variety of issues. They will do so first through surveying and then by developing a model of...Read more about Peter Maxted

Alfredo Mendoza Fernández

Ph.D. student focusing on macroeconomics and international economics
2024 BB90 Recipient
2023 BB90 Recipient

Macroeconomic aggregate data indicates that monetary policy transmission operates differently in emerging economies compared to advanced economies. Alfredo Mendoza-Fernández aims to explore the factors underlying these disparities, with a particular focus on how demand patterns for multi-...Read more about Alfredo Mendoza Fernández

Serra Pelin

Ph.D. student focusing on inflation dynamics, monetary policy, and international macro-finance
2024 BB90 Recipient

Costanza Gai and Serra Pelin will analyze how the currency composition of firms’ debts affects their choice of invoicing currency and implications for trade price and quantity. The researchers seek to inform policymakers about the impacts of using...Read more about Serra Pelin

Venance Riblier

Ph.D. student focusing on macroeconomics and behavioral economics
2024 BB90 Recipient

Recent research has shown that inflation disproportionately affects low-income households in both developed and developing countries. Understanding this process is important for creating a monetary policy that effectively responds to rising inequality. Venance Riblier, Laura Waring, and Vitor...Read more about Venance Riblier

Jesse Rothstein

Professor of public policy
2024 BB90 Recipient

There is a belief in economics that tight labor markets lead to quicker wage growth for low-income workers. Jesse Rothstein and Benjamin Schoefer seek to create a stronger understanding of this issue by studying the long-term causal effects of labor market tightness on a diverse group of...Read more about Jesse Rothstein

Benjamin Schoefer

Assistant professor of economics
2024 BB90 Recipient

There is a belief in economics that tight labor markets lead to quicker wage growth for low-income workers. Jesse Rothstein and Benjamin Schoefer seek to create a stronger understanding of this issue by studying the long-term causal effects of labor market tightness on a diverse group of...Read more about Benjamin Schoefer

Laura Waring

Ph.D. student focusing on macroeconomics and behavioral economics
2024 BB90 Recipient

Non-income financial shocks are a significant cause of economic turmoil for households. Laura Waring and Peter Maxted will study how the processes of household expenditure shocks work on a variety of issues. They will do so first through surveying and then by developing a model of...Read more about Laura Waring

2023 Recipients