Bosses who feel inadequate can turn into bullies
Bosses who are in over their heads are more likely to bully subordinates. That’s because feelings of inadequacy trigger them to lash out at those around them, according to new research from the UC Berkeley, and the University of Southern California. In a new twist on the adage “power corrupts,” researchers at UC Berkeley and USC have found a direct link among supervisors and upper management between self-perceived incompetence and aggression. The findings, gleaned from four separate studies, are published in the November issue of the journal Psychological Science.
(13 October)
Stockholm calling
When Oliver Williamson's phone rang at 3:30 Monday morning, he wasn't entirely surprised to find the Nobel Prize committee on the line. But Berkeley's newly minted economics laureate was variously elated, proud and humbled as he recounted the moment later Monday for well-wishers and the media.
(12 October)
UC Berkeley's Oliver Williamson shares Nobel Prize in economics
Olier Williamson, the Edgar F. Kaiser Professor Emeritus of Business Economics, and Law at UC Berkeley, a pioneer of the multi-disciplinary field of transaction cost economics, and one of the world's most cited economists, is a winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics.
(12 October)
Money rocks (and raps) in economics grad students' music videos
A group of graduate students in the Berkeley economics department, calling themselves the Metrics Gang, relate the trials and tribulations of their doctoral quest in four popular online singles.
(13 July)
Report: Widespread data sharing, "Web bugs"
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Information released a report late Monday (June 1) showing that the most popular Web sites all share data with their corporate affiliates and allow third parties to collect information directly by using tracking beacons known as "Web bugs" - despite the sites' claims that they don't share user data with third parties.
(02 June)
Obama calls on Berkeley School of Antitrust
Two University of California, Berkeley, professors who will become the federal government's top antitrust economists and a third chosen as a senior official in the same field are among the latest campus faculty members enlisted to help the Obama administration shape policy for the nation. Their appointments highlight the growing strength of Berkeley School of Antitrust Economics.
(28 May)
Ausin Hoggatt, professor emeritus at the Haas School, dies at age 79
Austin "Auggie" Hoggatt, professor emeritus at the Haas School of Business, died April 29 at age 79. His research and consulting spanned many fields, including computer simulations, experimental economics, management science, and savings and loans.
(07 May)
Transportation expert Ernest Koenigsberg passes away
Ernest Koenigsberg, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business and an expert in operations research and management science, with a focus on transportation, died on April 20 of heart failure at his home in San Francisco. He was 86.
(30 April)
Emmanuel Saez wins 2009 John Bates Clark Medal
University of California, Berkeley, professor Emmanuel Saez, a leading scholar of tax policy and the distribution of income and wealth, is the latest recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded by the American Economics Association (AEA) to the U.S. economist under 40 making the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge.
(29 April)
Public finance scholar George F. Break dead at 88
George F. Break, an emeritus professor of economics at UC Berkeley, and an authority on public finance, died of heart failure at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley on March 13. He was 88.
(30 March)
U.S. economy spurs foreign students to return home, study says
Most foreign nationals studying at universities in the United States say American higher education is the best in the world, but few plan to remain in this country after graduation to pursue their careers, according to a new study co-authored by a UC Berkeley, authority on technology and the global economy.
(19 March)
How are Berkeley students faring in hard times?
Many UC Berkeley students currently find themselves looking for cheaper housing, worrying about debt, or (especially if they're about to graduate) stressing about their job prospects. Eleven undergrads discuss how the economic downturn is affecting them. (With audio.)
(16 March)
Inexpensive flooring change improves child health in urban slums
Replacing dirt floors with cement in the homes of urban slums makes for more comfortable living – but more importantly, it significantly improves children’s health by interrupting the transmission of intestinal parasites and boosts their cognitive abilities, according to a new study conducted forUC Berkeley’s Center of Evaluation for Global Action.
(10 March)
Linking fast food proximity to obesity
Location is everything – and that goes for fast food as well as for real estate.California's nearly 3 million 9th graders are at least 5.2 percent more likely to be obese if there is a fast food restaurant within a tenth of a mile of their school, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, economists.
(04 March)
Economist James L. Pierce, authority on banking and monetary policy, dies
James L. Pierce, a professor emeritus of economics at UC Berkeley and an authority on banking and monetary policy, died of lung disease in Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley, Calif., on Feb. 15. He was 71.
(25 February)
Sloan fellowships awarded to seven young faculty members
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced today (Tuesday, Feb. 17) 118 new fellowship awards to early-career scientists, seven of them young faculty researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.
(17 February)
Obama's race not a factor in election, say economists
Reinforcing the notion of a "post racial" nation, two University of California, Berkeley, researchers' analysis of voting patterns indicates that voters were not motivated by race in the 2008 U.S. election of Barack Obama, the country's first black president.
(12 February)
MBA competition to address D.C. schools performance
Ten teams from top business schools around the country will set their sights on improving the public school system in the nation's capitol in the third annual Education Leadership Case Competition at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business on Feb. 20-21.
(10 February)
Educator Bill Sonnenschein dies in Madagascar
William "Bill" Sonnenschein, a senior lecturer on leadership and communication at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, passed away suddenly on December 29 in Madagascar. He was 59.
(07 January)
MBA students partner with national lab scientists to commercialize clean tech
Bringing clean tech innovations into the market place faster is the purpose of a new partnership launched this fall between scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and students of the Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative, an interdisciplinary organization founded by MBA students at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
(01 December)
Barack Obama names Christina Romer, economics professor and monetary policy expert, as top U.S. economist
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has announced his intention to nominate UC Berkeley macroeconomist Christina D. Romer, an authority on monetary policy and business cycles, to chair the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
(24 November)
UC Berkeley and Nokia turn mobile phones into traffic probes with launch of pilot traffic-monitoring software
Moments before midnight on Monday, Nov. 10, researchers from UC Berkeley and Nokia Research Center, Palo Alto, will publicly release pilot software that turns GPS-enabled cellular devices into mobile traffic probes providing real-time information on traffic flow and travel times.
(06 November)
Experts to gather this week for UC Berkeley-UCLA symposium on mortgage meltdown
A timely symposium, "Mortgage Meltdown, the Economy and Public Policy," held jointly by UC Berkeley and UCLA will be held this Thursday and Friday, Oct. 30-31, at UC Berkeley's Alumni House. Among the featured speakers will be Federal Reserve Bank Chair Ben Bernanke (speaking via satellite)and San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen, professor emeritus at the Haas School of Business.
(27 October)
Greyhounds and bloodhounds
At a forum on the U.S. financial collapse, campus experts follow the trail to the roots of the crisis, hold their noses for a hard-to-swallow $700 billion bailout.
(09 October)
Why is Wall Street in shambles?
Why is Wall Street in shambles?
(01 October)
Economists' research shows positive effects of minimum-wage increases
As legislators in various states and Barack Obama propose minimum-wage increases, researchers at UC Berkeley's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment have found that such increases, contrary to some arguments, have positive effects on the employment of the lowest-paid workers.
(23 July)
Beware the superstar CEO, says economist
The seemingly charmed life of a superstar CEO can be a double-edged sword - added power and prestige for the chief executive officer, but often bad news for his or her company and shareholders, according to a new study co-authored by a University of California, Berkeley, economist.
(18 July)
Professor explores social behavior and business misdeeds
Corporate misconduct can be the stuff of high drama. But prevailing theory has it that "settling up," the process of meting out consequences for corporate misdeeds, is largely determined by quite rational, unbiased financial markets and often the legal system.
(16 July)
Job outlook for graduates sunnier than expected
As the season of caps, gowns and "Pomp and Circumstance" winds down this week at the UC Berkeley, many new graduates are uneasy about their job prospects, given reports of an economic slowdown. But career counselors and analysts on campus say they have seen no sign of employers putting the brakes on recruitment efforts.
(22 May)
Technology, biotech ventures tie for first in Business Plan Competition
New search technology provider Implicit Interfaces and biotech venture Titan Medical tied for first place at the 10th annual UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
(07 May)
$2 million for sustainability projects designed by students and faculty
Twenty-three projects aimed at helping people live more sustainably have been granted a total of $2 million through a new program at the University of California, Berkeley, that is funded by the Dow Chemical Co. Foundation.
(01 May)
Clean energy plans dominate 2008 Global Social Venture Competition
A plan to make clean energy affordable around the world to poor, rural households without access to electricity won the grand prize of the 2008 Global Social Venture Competition at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
(23 April)
Intel and Microsoft launch parallel computing research center at UC Berkeley
Microsoft and Intel announced Tuesday, March 18, the creation of two Universal Parallel Computing Research Centers, the first at UC Berkeley and another at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The two centers comprise what is considered the nation's first joint industry and university research alliance of this magnitude that is focused on mainstream parallel computing.
(18 March)
John H. Freeman, business professor and entrepreneurship pioneer, dies
John H. Freeman, a leader in the field of entrepreneurship and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, died of an apparent heart attack at his home in Lafayette, Calif., on Monday (March 3). He was 63.
(07 March)
New Asia business center to bolster UC Berkeley's offerings in Asia
The University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business is launching a new center focused on significantly increasing the school's leadership training for Asian business managers and on expanding its research collaborations with Asian universities, Dean Tom Campbell announced today (Tuesday, Feb. 19).
(20 February)
Study finds cloudy outlook for solar panels
Despite increasing popular support for solar photovoltaic panels in the United States, their costs far outweigh the benefits, according to a new analysis by Severin Borenstein, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business and director of the UC Energy Institute.
(20 February)
Chancellor's chair in equity and inclusion announced
A new $5 million chair devoted to leading-edge research and teaching on equity and inclusion in society was announced today. The Robert D. Haas Chancellor's Chair in Equity and Inclusion is being established in large part through a gift from the Levi Strauss Foundation.
(19 February)
Economist examines costs of extreme cold weather
Fatalities in the continental United States tend to climb for several weeks after severe cold spells, ultimately numbering 360 per chilly day and 14,380 per year, according to a new study co-authored by a University of California, Berkeley, economist.Deaths linked to extreme cold account for 0.8 percent of the nation's annual death rate and outnumber those attributed to leukemia, murder and chronic liver disease combined, the study reports. Cold-related deaths also reduce the average life expectancy of Americans by at least a decade, it says.
(19 December)
The most wonderful time of the year?
Is it drummer-boy time again? A trio of wise Haas School scholars weighs in on the commercial side of the holidays.
(06 December)
"Big Box Living Wage Ordinance" would benefit low-wage Wal-Mart workers, minimally impact shoppers, says new study
Wal-Mart could increase its minimum wage to $10 per hour and greatly boost the well-being of its low-income workers with little financial impact on most shoppers, says a study released today by the University of California at Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education.
(05 December)
Inside Innovation conference to showcase faculty research
UC Berkeley's business faculty will share their latest research, opinions and insights on driving innovation in business at the inaugural Inside Innovation 2007 conference on Saturday (Nov. 17) at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business.The all-day conference celebrates the 50th anniversary of California Management Review, the Haas School's peer-reviewed, practitioner-oriented journal. The publication's special anniversary issue on "Leading through Innovation" focuses entirely on Haas School faculty research that explores innovation in business.
(13 November)
New program to focus on sustainable products, solutions
With an initial $2 million gift announced today (Tuesday, Oct. 30), the University of California, Berkeley, will move forward to establish a new program aimed at providing students educational and research opportunities in the area of sustainable products and solutions.
(30 October)
Center for Energy and Environmental Innovation launched
Energy and environmental innovation is the focus of a new cross-disciplinary center housed at the University of California, Berkeley, that aims to promote viable global energy solutions.
(24 October)
Frederick E. Balderston, Haas School professor emeritus, dies at 84
Frederick E. Balderston, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, an authority on the savings and loan industry as well as on university administration, and an early experimenter with computer simulation of banking and marketing decisions, has died at the age of 84.
(24 October)
World Bank report co-authored by UC economists calls for more investment in agriculture
A renewed focus on agricultural development is critical to successfully reducing global poverty and hunger, according to a new World Bank report co-authored by UC Berkeley economists. The report was released Friday, Oct. 19, at the World Bank's annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
(19 October)
Marketing professor explores the responses viewers reap from scary movies
Eduardo Andrade of the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business wondered why his wife loves scary movies that make him squirm. So, the assistant professor of marketing interested in consumer behavior teamed up with Joel B. Cohen, a professor of marketing and anthropology at of the University of Florida, to deconstruct what happens when people watch horror films.
(11 October)
$25 million gift to add new faculty at Haas School
At least five new faculty positions will be crated at the Haas School of Business with a $25 million gift from alumnus Gerson Bakar, a prominent San Francisco real estate developer. Announcement of the gift, the largest individual donation in Haas School history, was made today (Wednesday, Oct. 10) by the school's dean, Tom Campbell.
(10 October)
Students to manage Socially Responsible Investment Fund
Managing a socially responsible investment fund is one of the new learning experiences the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business is offering its graduate students for the first time this fall.
(20 September)
Donors, chairs and Cal: Launching lasting friendships
Larry and Diane Bock, who last year endowed the Larry and Diane Bock Endowed Chair in Nanotechnology, exemplify how endowing a chair "is much more than making a monetary gift," says Scott Biddy, vice chancellor for University Relations. “Donors often form lasting, meaningful relationships with the campus and our faculty."
(13 September)
New economic, social benefits report highlights campus impacts
A new economic impact and social benefits report documents the University of California, Berkeley's contributions to the economy and quality of life for residents of the San Francisco Bay Area and highlights the wide-ranging, local to global impacts of campus research.
(13 September)
Black workers face low wages, advancement obstacles, report says
A new report by UC Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education finds that more than half of black workers in the United States have jobs that don't pay well, provide retirement and health benefits, or offer avenues for advancement.
(04 September)
Graduate students find no match in evening cell phone use spike and crash data
It's conventional wisdom that talking on cell phones while driving is risky business, but two University of California, Berkeley, graduate student economists report that a spike in cell phone use in recent years and on weekday evenings is not matched by an increase in fatal or non-fatal car crashes from 2002-2005.
(13 August)
Researchers explore increasing foreign investment in U.S. bonds, mortgage securities
Unprecedented investment in U.S. securities such as government bonds and mortgage-backed securities by China and other foreign countries reflects a growing globalization of real estate finance and generally benefits all sides - including U.S. home buyers enjoying lower interest rates - say researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business.
(10 August)
Haas researcher identifies book-cooking tipoffs
Growth companies that are suffering deteriorating operating performance are the most likely firms to manipulate their financial numbers, according to a new, comprehensive analysis of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents by an accounting professor at the Haas School of Business.
(11 July)
Study predicts positive net economic impacts of key health reform plans
A UC Berkeley study released today (Wednesday, July 11), says that two of the main health care reform proposals under consideration in California are likely to have a positive net impact on the state's economy.
(11 July)
MBA team Revolution Foods wins social venture competition
Serving healthy home-style school lunches in the San Francisco Bay Area earned Revolution Foods, based in Emeryville, Calif., the grand prize at the eighth annual Global Social Venture Competition held recently at the University of California, Berkley’s Haas School of Business.
(17 April)
Finalists face off with global social venture plans
Ten social venture finalists from around the world will compete for $45,000 in prizes and funds for business plans ranging from health and renewable energy to special childcare for families with disabled children at the eighth annual Global Social Venture Competition hosted by the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business on Friday, April 13. The competition will culminate in a one-day symposium on Saturday, April 14, at UC Berkeley's Clark Kerr campus. Panel discussions will focus on measuring impact, social venture financing, developing regions, and social entrepreneurship as a competitive strategy – and how to get started.
(06 April)
US experiment extending Daylight Saving Time unlikely energy saver, researchers say
As the United States readies to launch Daylight Savings Time this Sunday (March 11) -- three weeks earlier than previous years -- residents can count on more sunshine later in the day, but not on saving energy, advise two University of California, Berkeley, Ph.D. students.
(08 March)
MBA students focus on education finances
MBA students at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business will host the Education Leadership Case Competition, the first of its kind at a business school in the United States, on Thursday and Friday, March 1-2. The competition will focus on a new financial plan for the Oakland Unified School District, which has been in state receivership since 2003 due to financial troubles.
(26 February)
Labor programs to link to noted labor leader, the late Miguel Contreras
The University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Industrial Relations and Center for Labor Research and Education – along with their counterpart programs based at UCLA – will become affiliated with an umbrella virtual organization named for prominent state labor leader Miguel Contreras.
(17 January)
Before buying a car, be sure to cruise the Web
Shopping for a new car can drive even the most relaxed consumer over the edge. But new research by a Haas School of Business marketing professor shows that the Internet can help with this often-trying experience by boosting a buyer's negotiating power.
(10 January)
I-School Dean AnnaLee Saxenian assists with immigrant entrepreneurs study
More than a quarter of the engineering and technology companies established in the United States in the past decade were founded by immigrant entrepreneurs, according to a new report co-authored by AnnaLee Saxenian, dean of Berkeley's School of Information.
(04 January)
