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Robert Reich

Emeritus Carmel P. Friesen Professor of Public Policy

Robert B. Reich is currently the Carmel P. Friesen Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. He has served in three national administrations, including as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton. He has written eighteen books, including the bestsellers The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, The Common Good, Saving Capitalism, Aftershock, Supercapitalism, and The Work of Nations, which has been translated into twenty-two languages. He is co-creator of the 2017 Netflix original documentary Saving Capitalism and of the award-winning 2013 film Inequality for All. He is co-founder of Inequality Media, co-founder of the Economic Policy Institute, and co-founding editor of The American Prospect. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. .

In 2003, Reich was awarded the prestigious Vaclav Havel Vision Foundation Prize, by the former Czech president, for his pioneering work in economic and social thought. In 2008, Time Magazine named him one of the ten most successful cabinet secretaries of the century. He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College, his M.A. from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Contact and Office Hours

Clock Office Hours

By appointment via Aarin Walker: gspp-execasst@berkeley.edu.

About

Areas of Expertise

  • Industrial Policy
  • Labor and Employment
  • Leadership and Management
  • Politics
  • Poverty & Inequality
  • Leadership and Social Change
  • Macroeconomic Policy
  • Social and Economic Policy

Curriculum Vitae

Research

Working Papers

The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility

Working Paper: GSPP08-003 (August 2008)

Selected Publications

Beyond Outrage: What Has Gone Wrong With Our Economy and Our Democracy and How to Fix It

Reich, Robert B. Beyond Outrage: What Has Gone Wrong with Our Economy and Our Democracy, and How to Fix It. New York: Vintage, 2012.

Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future

Reich, Robert B. Aftershock: The next Economy and America's Future. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.

Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life

Reich, Robert B. Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.

Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America

Reich, Robert B. Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.

I’ll Be Short: Essentials for a Decent Working Society

Reich, Robert B. I'll Be Short: Essentials for a Decent Working Society. Boston: Beacon, 2002.

In the News

Articles and Op-Eds

Loophole Lets Money Pour Into CEOs' Wallets

San Francisco Chronicle, August 2, 2013

There's No 'I' in 'We the People'

San Francisco Chronicle, July 12, 2013

Why Republicans Want to Tax Students and Not Polluters

California Progress Report, July 7, 2013

A Revolutionary Strategy for Reviving the Economy

San Francisco Chronicle, July 5, 2013

The Truth About Immigration Reform and the Economy

Huffington Post, June 26, 2013

2 Reasons Americans Should Worry

San Francisco Chronicle, June 21, 2013

Robert Reich Explains America's Inequality Problem In 150 Seconds (VIDEO)

Huffington Post, June 19, 2013

Inequality is Real, It's Personal, It's Expensive and It Was Created

June 18, 2013

Answer Sheet Blog: A New "Education Declaration" for Genuine School Reform

Washington Post Online, June 9, 2013

Economic Storms Brewing

San Francisco Chronicle, June 7, 2013

Congress Paralyzed by Conservatives

San Francisco Chronicle, May 15, 2013

Change is Never Easy, But It's Possible

San Francisco Chronicle, April 29, 2013

Delamaide: Economists Thrash Banks for Their Excesses

USA Today, April 21, 2013

Bi-Partisanship We Don't Need: The President Offers to Cut Social Security and Republicans Agree

Huffington Post, April 8, 2013

Is the Tougher Workplace Slowing Down the Economic Recovery?

Los Angeles Times, April 6, 2013

The Morality Brigade

Baltimore Sun, March 25, 2013

"It's Still a Bear Market for Workers"

San Francisco Chronicle, March 13, 2013

Why There's a Bull Market for Stocks and a Bear Market for Workers

Huffington Post, March 3, 2013

What Obama Should Do Now

Huffington Post, March 2, 2013

Professor Robert Reich discusses the Minimum Wage

NPR's Talk of the Nation, February 23, 2013

Immigrants May Be The Best Hope For Desperate Baby Boomers

Business Insider, February 19, 2013

The Minimum Wage and the Meaning of a Decent Society

Baltimore Sun, February 18, 2013

Labor Unions Raise Prosperity for All

San Francisco Chronicle, February 6, 2013

America Faces Catastrophic Levels Of Inequality

Business Insider, January 27, 2013

Obama's Debt-Ceiling Strategy Unclear

San Francisco Chronicle, January 23, 2013

The Washington Connection

Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2013

Entitlement Cuts Won't Solve Deficit

San Francisco Chronicle, January 9, 2013

Debt Ceiling and Guns: Using Presidential Authority to the Fullest

Huffington Post, January 8, 2013

From Hurricanes to Health Care: What's Government For?

KQED Radio, October 31, 2012

Economic Recovery Hinges on Election

San Francisco Chronicle, October 10, 2012

Analyzing Presidential Candidates' Economic Plans

Wall Street Journal Live, October 1, 2012

Mitt Romney Down But Not Necessarily Out

San Francisco Chronicle, September 27, 2012

Republicans Alienating Majority of Voters

San Francisco Chronicle, September 19, 2012

How Republicans Reinforce Campaign of Lies

San Francisco Chronicle, September 6, 2012

Paul Ryan Represents Political Dark Age

San Francisco Chronicle, August 16, 2012

The Problem: Big Business Doesn't Care About American Well-Being

Christian Science Monitor, July 17, 2012

Recovery Depends on Middle-Class Spending Power

San Francisco Chronicle, June 20, 2012

Reich: Super PACs Must Face Accountability

San Francisco Chronicle, June 15, 2012

Looking Beyond Election Day

New York Times, November 22, 2011

We the People, and the New American Civil War

Huffington Post, November 3, 2011

The Limping Middle Class

New York Times, September 1, 2011

Vicious Cycles: Why Washington Is About to Make the Jobs Crisis Worse

Huffington Post, July 23, 2011

Once the Stimulus Kicks In, the Real Fight Begins

Washington Post, January 30, 2009

Media Citations

Health Care Law Raises Pressure on Public Unions

New York Times, August 2, 2013

Webcasts

What’s Next for Democracy: Social Safety Net in America with Robert Reich

What’s Next for Democracy: Social Safety Net in America with Robert Reich

Robert Reich,

Date: December 4, 2020 Duration: 18 minutes

The Coming Wave?

The Coming Wave?

Henry E. Brady, Dean, Goldman School of Public Policy, Janet Napolitano, President, University of California, Robert B. Reich, Professor of Public Policy,

Date: October 30, 2018 Duration: 53 minutes

Taxes, Trade, Tariffs and Trump with Robert Reich and Stephen Moore—Point/Counterpoint

Taxes, Trade, Tariffs and Trump with Robert Reich and Stephen Moore—Point/Counterpoint

Henry E. Brady, Stephen Moore, Robert B. Reich,

Date: March 20, 2018 Duration: 73 minutes

Truth as a Common Good with Robert Reich

Truth as a Common Good with Robert Reich

Robert Reich,

Event: Spring 2017 Board of Advisors Meeting

Date: March 29, 2017 Duration: 51 minutes

Into the World of Work

Date: May 15, 2016 Duration: 23 minutes

Last updated on 07/05/2023