Matrix On Point
Recap
Published April 15, 2022
The Future of Money: Mobile Money, Social Media, and Cashless Economies
Focusing on forms of cashless payment, such as mobile money and apps, this "Matrix on Point" panel explored questions about how the social connections made through money are changing, and what the implications might be for our understanding of money, trust, and social connection. The panel featured Kevin Donovan, Lecturer in the Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh; Lana Swartz, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia; and Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The panel was moderated by Marion Fourcade, Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley and Director of Social Science Matrix.
Learn More >California Spotlight
Recap
Published April 12, 2022
The Social and Economic Impacts of Wildfires
Recorded on April 4, 2022, this panel focused on the contemporary social and economic impacts of wildfires in California during another record-breaking fire season. How have fires changed during the last five years, and with what impacts on the economy? How might policy-makers and economists respond to the changing fire season? The panel was co-sponsored by the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) and presented as part of the Social Science Matrix California Spotlight series.
Learn More >Article
Interview
Published March 29, 2022
The Labor Market and the Opioid Epidemic: A Visual Interview with Nathan Seltzer
In this visual interview, Nathan Seltzer, a postdoctoral scholar in the UC Berkeley Department of Demography, discusses his research into the relationship between economic change and population trends. In published and ongoing work, he investigates how the decline of the American manufacturing sector has impacted fertility rates, mortality rates, and economic mobility.
Learn More >Matrix On Point
Recap
Published March 14, 2022
Cryptography and the Future of Money
Recorded on March 2, 2022, this "Matrix on Point" panel featured presentations by Markus K. Brunnermeier, Edwards S. Sanford Professor in the Economics Department at Princeton University and Director of Princeton’s Bendheim Center for Finance; Stefan Eich, Assistant Professor of Government at Georgetown University; and Christine Parlour, the Sylvan C. Coleman Chair of Finance and Accounting at Berkeley Haas. Moderated by Barry Eichengreen, the George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Chair and Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley.
Learn More >Authors Meet Critics
Recap
Published February 8, 2022
Bankers in the Ivory Tower: The Troubling Rise of Financiers in US Higher Education
Watch the video (or listen to the podcast) of our “Author Meets Critics” panel on the book, "Bankers in the Ivory Tower: The Troubling Rise of Financiers in US Higher Education," by Charlie Eaton, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Merced. Recorded on Feb. 3, 2022, the panel included Emmanuel Saez and Jonathan Glater, with Jennifer Johnson-Hanks as moderator.
Learn More >Article
Interview
Published February 8, 2022
Innovation Matters: Competition Policy for the High-Tech Economy
In his new book, "Innovation Matters: Competition Policy for the High-Technology Economy," Richard Gilbert, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics at UC Berkeley, argues that regulators should be considering the effects of mergers and monopolies on innovation, rather than price. Read our Q&A with Professor Gilbert.
Learn More >Authors Meet Critics
Recap
Published December 8, 2021
Author Meets Critics: “The Banks Did It: An Anatomy of the Financial Crisis”
Watch the video of our “Authors Meet Critics” discussion focused on "The Banks Did It: An Anatomy of the Financial Crisis," by Neil Fligstein, Class of 1939 Chancellor’s Professor in the UC Berkeley Department of Sociology. Professor Fligstein was joined in conversation by Adam Tooze, Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of History at Columbia University and author of Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World (2018) and Shutdown: How Covid Shook the World's Economy (2021). This event was co-sponsored by the Network for a New Political Economy (N2PE).
Learn More >Authors Meet Critics
Recap
Published November 29, 2021
Shareholder Cities: Land Transformations along Urban Corridors in India
Recorded on November 16, 2021, this video presents an “Authors Meet Critics” panel focused on the book, Shareholder Cities: Land Transformations along Urban Corridors in India (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019), by Sai Balakrishnan, Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley, with a joint appointment with DCRP and Global Metropolitan Studies. Professor Balakrishnan was joined in conversation by Sharad Chari, Associate Professor of Geography at UC Berkeley, and Michael Watts, Class of ‘63 and Chancellor’s Professor of Geography Emeritus, and Co-Director of Development Studies at UC Berkeley.
Learn More >Social Science / Data Science
Recap
Published October 14, 2021
Doing Academic Research with Amazon Mechanical Turk
Recorded on October 1, 2021, this panel brought together researchers to share their experience with the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform. Moderated by UC Berkeley psychology professor Serena Chen, the panel featured Ali Alkhatib, Interim director of the Center for Applied Data Ethics at the University of San Francisco; Stefano DellaVigna, Daniel Koshland, Sr. Distinguished Professor of Economics and Professor of Business Administration at UC Berkeley; and Gabriel Lenz, Professor of Political Science at UC Berkeley.
Learn More >Podcast
Interview
Published April 12, 2021
Matrix Podcast: Interview with Rebecca Herman
In this podcast, Michael Watts interviews Rebecca Herman, Assistant Professor of History, UC Berkeley. Professor Herman's research and writing examine modern Latin American history in a global context. Her first book, forthcoming from Oxford University Press, reconstructs the history of U.S. military basing in Latin America during World War II.
Learn More >Authors Meet Critics
Recap
Published March 15, 2021
Scammer’s Yard: The Crime of Black Repair in Jamaica
Recorded on March 10, 2021, this video features a panel discussion about Scammer's Yard: The Crime of Black Repair in Jamaica, a book by Jovan Scott Lewis, Assistant Professor of Geography at UC Berkeley.
Learn More >Authors Meet Critics
Recap
Published February 19, 2021
Bloc by Bloc: How to Build a Global Enterprise for the New Regional Order
Joined by a panel of scholars, CLTC Faculty Director Steve Weber discussed his book, which outlines a framework for how firms should position themselves for the new economic geography.
Learn More >