Political Economy at UCB

UC Berkeley has a stellar Political Economy group spread across various departments. I have found people are often not aware of the wide variety of seminars and resources at these departments. And so, here I attempt to put together some basic details on events and resources for someone interested in Political Economy from an economics angle:

Seminars/Meetings

  1. Robert Powell Political Economy Seminar: Mondays 12.30-2pm in 223 Philosophy Hall.
  2. Oliver E. Williamson Seminar on Institutional Analysis: Thursdays 12.30-2pm in 220 Cheit Hall. A mix of talks by invited speakers and brown bag talks by Haas BPP PhD students.
  3. Berkeley Political Economy Research Lab: Fridays 1-2pm in Cheit Hall C250. A low-stakes forum for PhD students to discuss (mostly, early stage) projects with peers and faculty members. Does not require formal presentations.

Conferences hosted at or organized by UC Berkeley

  1. Development and Political Economics PhD Student Conference (DEVPEC), co-organized by UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Usually held in April.
  2. Annual Meeting and regional meeting of CEGA’s Working Group in African Political Economy. No stable website for the meetings but can check for upcoming events’ announcements here.
  3. CEGA has hosted several conferences on the study of conflict in the past but I couldn’t find a recurring one. Again, better to check their upcoming events page.

Designated Emphasis in Political Economy

Effectively a “minor” in Political Economy, this program aims to expose Political Economy students to an interdisciplinary study of the subject. It requires completion of at least three courses with two of those completed outside of your home department and participation in approximately monthly workshops.

Besides the exposure to an interdisciplinary peer network, the program offers a $1000 summer stipend, conference travel grant, and small research grants. Details here.

You can enroll into the program in the semester (or later) you take one of the approved courses. For economics PhD students, Econ 210A, 215A, and 215B qualify. For Haas students, PHDBA 279PA/C/D qualify. Of course, you can take a course in another department to get started with the program too. Details here.