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It’s no accident that money obtained through dishonest or illegal means is called “dirty money.” A new UC Berkeley study suggests that when people perceive money as morally tainted, they also view it as having less value and purchasing power, challenging the belief that all money is green, and that people will cross ethical boundaries to amass it.
Business & economics archive
Berkeley gears up for new era of enterprise with Skydeck incubator
March 2, 2012: Skydeck forms the hub of Berkeley’s efforts to foster a new generation of young entrepreneurs and forge a hotbed of collaborative innovation and enterprise in the East Bay.
Black and Latino seniors’ retirement insecurity detailed
February 27, 2012: Black and Latino seniors face tougher times in retirement than American seniors as a whole, says a new research brief based on U.S. census data. Retirees of color, especially Blacks and Latinos, “rely more heavily on Social Security and have less access to other types of retirement income than their white counterparts,” says study author Nari Rhee of the Center for Labor Research and Education.
Upper class more likely to be scofflaws due to greed, study finds
February 27, 2012: The upper class has a higher propensity for cheating, driving illegally and endorsing unethical behavior in the workplace, believing – as did Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wall Street” – that “greed is good,” according to a new UC Berkeley study.
Professor of Greek history worries about his homeland’s future
February 10, 2012: As Sunday’s vote on austerity measures approaches, Nikolaos Papazarkadas, a UC Berkeley assistant professor of classics and a native of Greece, is apprehensive about conditions in his native land improving anytime soon.
I School dean talks tech innovation on Canadian radio 
February 3, 2012: AnnaLee Saxenian, dean of the School of Information and author of The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy, talks about what happened in Silicon Valley to make it the world’s tech innovation center, and how the future of growth and innovation will depend on the new Argonauts — experts who move information fluidly between creative hubs all over the world.
Nora Silver highlights diversity and volunteerism in new book
February 2, 2012: A new book by Nora Silver, adjunct professor of business, explores an increasingly important issue facing nonprofits: understanding, attracting and engaging ethnic volunteers. Telling the Whole Story: Voices of Ethnic Volunteers in America shares untold stories of voluntary engagement, which Silver gathered from focus groups in seven ethnic communities.
‘Income inequality didn’t just happen, it was engineered’ 
January 18, 2012: Political scientists Paul Pierson of UC Berkeley and Jacob Hacker of Yale say the vast and growing gap between America’s haves and have-nots didn’t just happen, but was deliberately and politically “engineered.” Co-authors of the recent book “Winner-Take-All Politics,” the two appeared on the Jan. 13 episode of “Moyers & Company.”
Labor Center breaks down latest black-worker stats
January 10, 2012: In its latest Black Worker Report, the UC Berkeley Labor Center looks at the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which place black unemployment nationwide at 15.8 percent for December, 2011. (PDF)
Climate change and business research initiative gains traction
January 6, 2012: Environmentalists and corporations don’t always see eye-to-eye on climate change. But the Climate Change and Business Research Initiative has shown that the two sides’ objectives can not only co-exist, but be mutually beneficial. The program — connecting leaders from business, government, nonprofits — is run jointly by the law schools at UC Berkeley and UCLA.
Top California school on CPA exam: UC Berkeley
January 3, 2012:
Among California schools, UC Berkeley candidates earned the best average scores on the state CPA exam, and the best first-time pass rate, 67.1 percent.
Lower classes quicker to show compassion in the face of suffering
December 19, 2011: Emotional differences between the rich and poor, as depicted in such Charles Dickens classics as “A Christmas Carol” and “A Tale of Two Cities,” may have a scientific basis. Researchers at UC Berkeley have found that people in the lower socio-economic classes are more physiologically attuned to suffering, and quicker to express compassion than their more affluent counterparts.
Income inequality writ large — on the wall across the street
December 14, 2011: In a move inspired by Occupy Wall Street and noted by the Maddow Blog and others, the UC Berkeley Labor Center took its research findings to the streets, literally, with some Bat-Signal infographics.
Proposed regs limit working families’ access to affordable healthcare, study finds
December 13, 2011: Tens of thousands of working Californians’ family members could be denied access to affordable health insurance under proposed regulations to the federal healthcare law, says a new report released by researchers at UC Berkeley and UCLA.
Berkeley hosts manufacturing brainstorm 
December 6, 2011: Leaders from academia, government and industry gathered at UC Berkeley Monday to discuss partnership strategies to re-establish the United States as a global leader in advanced manufacturing.
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation awards $6 million for earthquake early warning research
November 29, 2011: UC Berkeley, Caltech and the University of Washington will each receive $2 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to conduct research on an earthquake early warning system that seismologists hope to create along the Pacific Coast.
College of Engineering launches collaboration with Shanghai innovation hub
November 15, 2011: The College of Engineering announced Nov. 11 a new partnership with the Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, one of China’s top high-tech parks, to develop a platform for expanding industrial and academic research collaborations in Asia and fostering global learning opportunities for UC Berkeley students.
Media Advisory: Public policy professor, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich to deliver Savio Memorial Lecture on class warfare
November 8, 2011: he University of California, Berkeley’s 15th annual Mario Savio Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Robert Reich, former U.S. labor secretary and professor of public policy at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, on the topic of class warfare.
Big Ideas for Jobs Creation: A Q&A with Karen Chapple
November 7, 2011: Thirteen big ideas for programs and policies to create badly needed jobs in the United States were unveiled Monday at a Washington, D.C., briefing.
Haas study sheds eerie light on fright and financial decision making
October 27, 2011: Watching a scary movie can motivate you to sell your stocks earlier than you would have otherwise. That’s the frightening evidence shown in a series of studies from the Haas Marketing Group.
Low birth weight, poverty affect disease in adulthood, says new study co-authored by UC Berkeley economist
October 24, 2011: Vulnerability to asthma, heart disease, hypertension and stroke in adulthood begins very early in life and is linked to low birth weight and poverty, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health and co-authored by an economist at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.
Christina and David Romer to discuss healing the U.S. economy
October 19, 2011: Christina and David Romer will lead an Oct. 27 discussion, “Healing the Troubled American Economy,” being held on campus by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Nobel winners in economics share a UC Berkeley past
October 10, 2011:
This year’s two winners of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences both studied at UC Berkeley, where they are being praised by colleagues for their work in macroeconometrics and macroeconomic theory.
Wall Street protests echo researcher’s findings on growing income gap
October 7, 2011: Emmanuel Saez, a UC Berkeley economist, received a 2010 MacArthur “genius” award for his research on the growing income gains of super-wealthy American households and the parallel income erosion of the other 99 percent of the nation. In a Q & A, Saez talks about the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, in light of his work.
Grim retirement picture projected for California
October 3, 2011: Nearly half of California workers will retire in or near poverty, according to a new study by UC Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education. The authors found that retirees across the state rely overwhelmingly on Social Security income, a trend that could worsen as future workers retire without employer-sponsored benefits.
UC generates $46.3 billion in economic activity for state, study says
September 14, 2011: The University of California is a key economic catalyst for the state, annually generating more than $46 billion to economic activity for California, according to an independent economic impact report released Sept. 14.
With streamlined regulations, in-law units could boost East Bay affordable housing stock and economy, study finds
September 13, 2011: In-law units could provide needed affordable housing and boost the economies of five East Bay communities, according to a new UC Berkeley study that recommends adjusting local regulations so that can happen.
Twitter’s Biz Stone joins Haas School of Business as executive fellow
August 23, 2011: Twitter co-founder and serial entrepreneur Biz Stone will share his experiences and insights with the Haas School as the school’s fourth executive fellow, a position in which respected executives and thought leaders advise the dean, faculty and staff.
Chamberlin Fund launches exploration of online education for Berkeley professional schools, extension program
August 16, 2011: Highly qualified students from around the world could have greater access to programs at the University of California, Berkeley professional schools and through UC Berkeley Extension, thanks to $1 million from the Chamberlin Family Donor Designated Fund at the University of California, Berkeley Foundation.
Treasury official who spotted $2 trillion error is recent economics Ph.D.
August 10, 2011: John Bellows may not have the household-name recognition of Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke or Christina Romer. But the U.S. Treasury Department’s acting assistant secretary has generated widespread buzz in finance and policy circles since finding a $2 trillion error in the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) calculations it used to support a historic decision to downgrade the nation’s credit rating.
How child care strengthens California’s economy
August 9, 2011: Daycare and preschools are important not only to children and their families, they boost California’s economy as a whole, according to new research from UC Berkeley’s Labor Center. One tidbit from the report: Every dollar spent on early care and education yields $2 in economic output.
