Berkeley Haas is welcoming eight new professors this fall to the academic faculty. They bring expertise ranging from urban economics to consumer judgment to social influence, with research interests that include alternative work arrangements, pricing of risky assets, and ESG disclosure.
The new tenure-track faculty will be joined by 20 new professional faculty members, with five additional lecturers starting in spring. The academic faculty also welcomes four new post-doctoral researchers and three visiting faculty members: Jillian Grennan, David Hart, and Benjamin Hébert.
We checked in with our new faculty members to learn more about their background, research, and what they’re looking forward to as a part of the Berkeley Haas community.
Meet the faculty
Assistant Professor, Management of Organizations (MORS)
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Education:
PhD, Management, Columbia University
BS/BA (specialization in economics), The Ohio State University
Research focus: Authenticity and self-perception
Introduction: I am originally from Pittsburgh, born into a big, loud Italian/Irish family of die-hard Steelers fans. Before I became an academic, I had a weird assortment of jobs including being a dishwasher, pizza maker, waitress, consultant, podcaster, and legislative aide. I love a good book (usually fiction), running a fun experiment, and eating Thai food.
Teaching: Leading People (MBA)
Most excited about: I’m excited to be in a place that is so research-active and at the center of so many important initiatives in making science more reliable, replicable, and inclusive.
Fun fact: I have 13 tattoos (and counting!)
Assistant Professor, Marketing
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Wilmette, Il.
Education:
PhD, Marketing, Washington University
BA, Philosophy, Neuroscience, and Psychology, Washington University
Research focus: Consumer judgments and decision making, social influence, prosocial behaviors, health-related judgments and behaviors
Introduction: I study social and psychological influences of consumer judgments and behavior across a wide range of topics including polarization, vaccine hesitancy, word-of-mouth, mental health, and voting decisions. I collaborate with businesses and nonprofits to translate laboratory findings into practical applications in real-world settings.
Teaching: Social Influence and Word of Mouth
Most excited about: I’m most excited about the research being done at Haas, and to learn from and work with my new colleagues.
Fun fact: I love backpacking and rafting and I’m rafting the Copper River in Alaska later this year. I also enjoy hiking around the Bay Area (send me recommendations please!). Some of my favorites so far are the Dipsea trail and Purisima Creek.
Assistant Professor, Business & Public Policy (BPP)
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Fair Lawn, NJ
Education:
PhD, Economics, New York University
BA, Economics and Mathematics, Brandeis University
Research focus: Mechanism design
Introduction: My work primarily focuses on mechanism design applied to public policy enforcement and regulation. In recent work, my co-authors and I partnered with a municipality in Peru to apply insights from mechanism design to the collection of property taxes. In a series of ongoing projects, I study the design of leniency and amnesty policies in a variety of contexts, including antitrust and tax collection.
Teaching: Political Economy – Frameworks (MBA)
Most excited about: I am excited to join a remarkable research community, and to work with the amazing faculty in the BPP group.
Fun fact: After failing to grow tomatoes for years in New York, I am excited to have a chance to succeed in California.
Assistant Professor, Accounting
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Gyeonggi, South Korea
Education:
PhD, Accounting, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
BSc in Economics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Research focus: ESG disclosure and corporate governance
Introduction: I’m excited to be a new assistant professor of accounting at the Haas School of Business. My research interests are focused on ESG (environmental, social, governance) disclosure, governance and incentives, and voluntary disclosure. In my dissertation, I examine how investors with heterogeneous preferences respond differently to companies’ carbon net-zero pledges and to the credibility of these pledges. I show that while some green funds seem to carefully examine the credibility of companies’ net-zero commitments and respond accordingly, there exist other green funds that seem to focus on the label, rewarding companies for simply announcing these pledges.
When I’m not working, I enjoy playing and watching tennis.
Teaching: Managerial Accounting (Undergraduate)
Most excited about: The people at Haas! (and perfect weather)
Fun fact: I have begun to learn and hone my skills in the art of Texas-style barbecue.
Assistant Professor, Finance
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Washington, DC
Education:
PhD, Economics, Harvard University
BA, Economics, University of Pennsylvania
Research focus: Asset prices and financial markets, macroeconomics, behavioral economics, and econometric methodology
Introduction: My research uses financial markets to answer questions about the underlying structure of the economy, with a particular focus on people’s beliefs and preferences about future risks. For example, why are risky asset prices so volatile, and what can we learn from this volatility about how people update their beliefs when they receive new information? How are shorter-term risks perceived relative to longer-term risks? While these projects are all related to asset pricing, they also reflect my interests in macroeconomics, behavioral economics, and econometrics. I’m really excited to continue this work—and branch out into new areas—with the exceptionally talented and diverse community of students and researchers at Haas.
Teaching: Introduction to Finance (Undergraduate), Investments and Derivatives (MFE)
Most excited about: I’m really excited to engage with both the Haas community and the Department of Economics, where a ton of exciting work is being done in all of my areas of research interest. I’m also thrilled to be at a university with such a rich history and tradition of faculty engagement with the world around them. And on a personal level, I’ve lived on the East Coast nearly my whole life and am excited to explore the Bay Area.
Fun fact: I have a dog named Pluto—named after the Greek god of the underworld, not the non-planet or cartoon dog—who’s also excited to explore the trails around Berkeley. Otherwise, I love reading (and very occasionally writing) short fiction.
Assistant Professor, Real Estate
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Paris, France
Education:
PhD, Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MA, Economics, Paris School of Economics
MSc, Management, HEC Paris
BA, Economics, Paris-Sorbonne University
École Normale Supérieure Ulm, Élève normalien
Research focus: Urban economics and public finance
Introduction: I am a French economist, specializing in public finance and urban economics. I would describe my research as being about “places and policies, and the way they interact.” That means understanding the role that economic geography plays in the differential impact of public policies across cities and regions. In recent research, I’ve applied this investigation of the feedback loops between government interventions and the geography of an economy to the impact of housing subsidies and taxation, to retirement policies, and to international trade patterns.
Teaching: Urban and Real Estate Economics (Undergraduate and MBA)
Most excited about: Haas is a world-class institution, harboring many of the top experts in the type of work I’ve been doing: combining large-scale datasets to better understand people’s geographic mobility and financial decisions. Berkeley as a whole is also a fantastic beehive of economists, not only at Haas but throughout the university’s various schools, and that makes it a stimulating environment to work in and produce high-quality research.
Fun fact: When quite young, I appeared on a French reality TV show called “Who wants to be the President?”, a version of American idol for politics.
Professor, Economic Analysis & Policy
Pronouns: he/him
Hometown: Boston, MA
Education:
PhD, Economics, Princeton
BA, Macalester College
Research focus: Labor market topics including; alternative work arrangements, fairness considerations and norms in the labor market, unemployment, social interactions, neighborhood segregation, the labor market effects of credit market disruptions, and unions.
Introduction: I am returning this year to Haas after a 14-year detour at Princeton University. From 2009 to 2011, I served as the associate director for economic policy and chief economist at the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President, and as chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor.
Teaching: Data Analytics (MBA)
Most excited about: The intellectual energy.
Fun fact: My first job in high school was playing the toy soldier at FAO Schwarz. I was the only applicant who fit in the costume.
Assistant Professor, Business & Public Policy (BPP)
Pronouns: she/her
Hometown: Nyack, NY
Education:
PhD, Economics, University of Virginia
BA, Economics and Math, Washington and Lee University
Research focus: I am an economist working at the intersection of public finance, industrial organization, and political economy.
Introduction: My research centers on the relationship between local governments and firms. My current projects in the U.S. setting involve state and local economic development policy, state procurement policy, and state regulation of automobile dealers. Before joining Haas, I worked at Columbia Business School as an assistant professor.
Teaching: Strategy (EWMBA)
Most excited about: I am excited for the amazing colleagues in the BPP group at Haas, and the broader economics community in Berkeley. I’m lucky to already be working with two co-authors who are at Berkeley, and finally we can have our meetings in person! I am also looking forward to taking advantage of the local amenities, and have many weekend trips planned: Yosemite, Sonoma, Point Reyes, etc.!
Fun fact: In my free time I enjoy running, playing tennis, and spending time with my husband and daughter.
Meet the post-docs
Luisa Cefala
PhD institution: UC Berkeley
Area of study: Development and behavioral economics
Hometown: Treviglio, Italy
Felix Owusu
PhD institution: Harvard University
Area of study: Public policy (economics track)
Hometown: Techiman, Ghana
Antonia Paredes
PhD institution: Yale University
Area of study: Political economy and development
Hometown: Santiago, Chile
Paul Vicinanza
PhD institution: Stanford Graduate School of Business
Area of study: Macro-organizational behavior
Hometown: Marietta, GA