Latest Edition Released!
After another semester of hard work from the BER staff, we are proud to announce the release of Berkeley Economic Review Volume V! You can read it online here. The latest edition includes the 3 winning submissions…
Read More
India and China: Two Very Different Paths to Development
SETH BERTOLUCCI – APRIL 30TH, 2018 There’s no doubt that the global balance of power has shifted east in recent years. The rise of India and China has fundamentally altered the modern world, whether that…
Drink Pepsi! No, Drink Coca-Cola!: Why Advertising is Such a Conundrum for Economists
MATTHEW FORBES – APRIL 25TH, 2018 A fish doesn’t realize it’s swimming in water unless it’s abruptly yanked out of the ocean. There are certain things so basic and interwoven in our everyday lives that…
Essay Contest Winners Announced!
After consideration and review by our staff, we’re excited to announce the winners of Berkeley Economic Review’s Spring 2018 Essay Contest! 1st place: “America is Failing Both Refugees and Itself” by Daniel Cohen 2nd place:…
Does the Free Market Protect Against Discrimination?
MATTHEW FORBES – APRIL 20, 2018 Milton Friedman, in his work Capitalism and Freedom, argues that one of the largest benefits of a free market system is that it protects people “from being discriminated against…
The Cost of Kids
JACOB FAJNOR – APRIL 18TH, 2018 Economic theory offers great insights into why fertility in recent history behaves contrary to common sense predictions. Yet, pinning down an exact model that universally predicts the childbearing behavior…
Oil Prices on the Rise: A Return to $100/Barrel?
VINAY MARURI – APRIL 13TH 2018 In 2014, after a decade of high oil prices during which crude oil regularly traded above $100 per barrel, a strange thing happened. The price of oil fell 40% amid…
Artificial Intelligence and the Rise of a New Social Class
VATSAL BAJAJ – APRIL 11, 2018 John Maynard Keynes first coined the term “technological unemployment” in 1930 in his essay “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren.” He defined it as the “unemployment due to our discovery of…
Why American Economic Policymakers Should Be Cautious
VINAY MARURI – APRIL 9TH, 2018 By all metrics, America is booming: the nationwide unemployment rate is 4.1%, inflation is low, and wages are starting to rise on average for American workers. The Federal Reserve…
Social Security: An Answer for Developing Nations
JACOB FAJNOR – March 23rd, 2018 For years, fiscal conservatives have looked to cut and privatize Social Security in the United States, arguing that taxing working Americans causes leakages in the economy, stunting economic growth and…