Professor Harrison is a world-renowned economist who has dedicated her career to creating sustainable policies in development economics, international trade, and global labor markets. She is best known for her work on foreign investment and the impact of multinational firms in the global economy, as well as for her research on poverty and the effects of political activism on business practices. She is also an experienced and talented administrator who, before joining Wharton, served as Director of Development Policy at the World Bank. In this role, she co-managed a team of 300 researchers and staff, reformed the World Bank’s process for allocating research funds, and oversaw the institution’s most important flagship publications, including its annual World Development Report. During her tenure, she convinced the World Bank’s president to release all the historical records on project loans to developing countries, a milestone in increasing transparency.

Professor Harrison comes to UC Berkeley with deep ties to the campus, having earned her bachelor’s degree from Berkeley with a double major in economics and history in 1982 and having served as a professor with the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics from 2001 to 2011. As a faculty member in ARE, she was an acclaimed teacher, mentor, and scholar to undergraduates and Ph.D. students. Professor Harrison has also taught at Columbia Business School, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the University of Paris.

Professor Harrison earned a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University and a Diplome d'Etudes Universitaires Generales from the University of Paris. She is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a member of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy, an affiliate of the International Growth Centre in London, and serves on a number of non-profit boards. She is the highly cited author of many economics articles and the editor of three books, Globalization and Poverty, Development Challenges in a Postcrisis World, and The Factory-Free Economy. She and her colleagues were recently awarded the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ prestigious Sun Yefang Prize, considered one of China’s most important honors in economics.

Throughout her illustrious career Professor Harrison has always remained a steadfast advocate for Berkeley, and it is a great joy to welcome her back to our campus. We are certain that she will continue to elevate Haas’ stature among the very best business schools as a place with elite academic and professional offerings that complement a focus on leading through innovation and serving the greater good.