Haas News
Professor Ann Harrison, former dean of Haas, said the United States should welcome foreign investment, including from China, and learn from it. “Restricting our market is just a first-order bad idea,” she said. Competition drives innovation and efficiency, without which companies often struggle to survive in the long term, she said.
Lucas Davis, the Jeffrey A. Jacobs Distinguished Professor, Professional Faculty Member Bill Pearce, and Associate Professor James Sallee highlighted the challenges facing Tesla and the electric vehicle market. Davis emphasized Tesla's deep tie to Elon Musk's image, Pearce critiqued Musk's marketing missteps that alienated buyers, and Sallee identified the Trump administration's policies as a significant threat to the future of EV adoption.
This article references Professor Enrico Moretti's 2008 co-authored study on parents' gender preferences for their children. The study analyzed census data from 1960 to 2000, and concluded that parents in America favored sons, a preference that has since been reversed.
This news roundup includes a summary of Professor of the Graduate School Severin Borenstein's interview about oil refinery closings. “I think if we are not prepared for the closure of these two refineries, we could see a very abrupt increase in prices," he said. “That is a real threat right now. California needs to get out ahead of it. This is a fire drill, this is not a long-term planning problem.”
In 2022, Lucas Davis, the Jeffrey A. Jacobs Distinguished Professor, found that the vast majority of primary residences in the United States have air conditioning. However, this article on the upcoming Pacific Northwest heatwave highlights that only 53 percent of buildings in Washington state have air conditioning, the second-lowest rate in the country after Alaska. With temperatures expected to hit the 90s in cities like Portland and Spokane, this lack of cooling infrastructure could pose significant challenges for residents.
The California Supreme Court is reviewing cuts to rooftop solar subsidies to address rising utility costs for non-solar customers. On this podcast, Severin Borenstein, professor of the graduate school, discusses the economics of California’s rooftop solar subsidies, and what the future may look like.
Despite the Trump administration's efforts to revoke student visas and restrict DEI policies at universities, Interim Dean Jennifer Chatman said "our (Berkeley Haas') commitment to DEI is unwavering." Chatman emphasized that "excellence and creativity come from diversity” and that her thinking has not changed under the Trump administration. "An international perspective is more important than ever,” she said.
Berkeley Haas recently celebrated the graduation of its inaugural Flex MBA cohort. Launched in 2022 as part of the Evening & Weekend MBA program, the Flex MBA offers an in-person and online hybrid tailored for professionals seeking greater flexibility. Flex grads Amy Harmon, Tony Lee, and Jeric Huang, all MBA 25, discussed why the program worked for them.
Professor Enrico Moretti cautions against relying on tariffs as a strategy for creating more manufacturing jobs in the U.S.. Moretti said that manufacturing's decline is driven by automation and that broader strategies are needed for sustainable economic growth and regional equality. " I don't think tariffs will really change the profound dynamics of the decline of the manufacturing sector that we see everywhere in the world," he said.
Associate Professor Matthew Backus served as an expert witness for the NCAA in an antitrust lawsuit. The case involved a University of Tennessee graduate who wanted to extend his Division I basketball eligibility. Backus presented data on how athletes profit from their personal brand during their senior year of college, versus other years.
Berkeley Executive Education offers a course called Business Strategies and Applications focused on AI application in business, featuring interactive sessions on generative AI, predictive analytics, and organizational strategies.
Professor Nancy Wallace, chair of the Real Estate Group, the Lisle and Roslyn Payne Chair in Real Estate and Capital Markets, and co-chair of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, discussed California's wildfire risks and what can be done to mitigate risk. “The average home is 47 years old… The average roof is 47 years too," she said. "A 47 year old roof will not live through one of these fires.”
Germany, once an economic powerhouse, faces stagnation due to an aging population, labor shortages, high energy costs, and reliance on legacy industries like manufacturing. Ulrike Malmendier, the Cora Jane Flood Professor of Finance and an economic advisor to the German government, said that Germany should focus on attracting more skilled foreign workers, improving workforce participation, and reforming its immigration processes.
Executive education is shifting back to in-person learning for stronger peer connections, though schools now balance multiple modalities to meet diverse learner needs. "Virtual learning can be scaled more quickly than in-person programmes, which are limited by campus space,” said Ellen Trader, vice-president of growth at Berkeley Executive Education.
Preparing for an MBA involves a mix of academic, career, and personal readiness, including brushing up on quantitative skills, setting clear career goals, improving soft skills, and building connections within the MBA community. Anica Nangia, MBA 24, advises incoming students to fully engage with their future classmates, learn from them, and begin to build lasting relationships to maximize the MBA experience.