Social Sciences (Faculty & Staff)

In a stark display of their economic power following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its allies deployed an array of sanctions aimed at curtailing Russia’s access to global financial markets and industrial supply chains. These unprecedented economic sanctions are intended to diminish the resources Russia has available to prosecute its war. While the moves have demonstrated a high degree of allied cooperation, they have also heightened debate about the relative effectiveness of economic measures aimed to induce peaceful behavior or to deter hostilities vs. as punishment...

Nine members of the UC Berkeley community – including eight faculty and one staff member — have been elected American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellows, one of the most distinctive honors within the scientific community. The 2021 class of AAAS fellows includes 564 scientists, engineers and innovators who are being recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements.

This spring, the College of Letters & Science Advisory Board launched its first-ever L&S Faculty Awards to celebrate outstanding Letters & Science faculty. Awardees were selected for their exceptional scholarship, service to the College and community, and transformational teaching. These extraordinary individuals not only embody the excellence of the College of Letters & Science, but they also serve as an inspiration to the entire campus community.

Gabriel Zucman, a UC Berkeley economist, has won the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal for his influential research on tax avoidance and economic inequality. The medal is awarded annually by the American Economic Association to an economist under the age of 40, and several past winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in economics. Zucman’s innovative research and wide-ranging influence over the past decade were cited in the award, as was his “revolutionary” work on the drivers of wealth inequality and policies to reduce it.

...