New Berkeley center to explore critical issues at intersection of politics, economy

A new UC Berkeley center will convene top scholars and students across a range of disciplines to conduct high-level research on critical social challenges at the intersection of politics and economics.

Funded by a five-year, $10 million grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the new Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative (BESI) aims to deepen scholarship on the vitally important interplay between economic and political systems in the U.S. and worldwide. Research will focus particularly on four themes: capitalism and democracy, environment and climate, technology and inequality.