It’s no secret that one of Berkeley-Haas’s defining characteristics is its emphasis on placing business in the larger context of social and environmental responsibility. The school’s four defining principles, starting with “Question the Status Quo”…
The American public’s attitude toward government, writes Laura Tyson in a new column for Project Syndicate, recalls a classic scene in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian.” “What have they ever given us in return?” fulminates…
By Paul Jansen Prize competitions for innovation have a long history of producing beneficial change – from the 18th-century Longitude Prize, which enabled more accurate transoceanic navigation, to Napoleon’s food preservation prize that led to…
By Kristiana Raube Is it possible to marry the nimbleness and innovation of a social entrepreneur with the reach and experience of a big, established nonprofit institution? Can a seemingly traditional relief charity embrace cutting-edge…
By David I. Levine A successful salesman in Cambodia, let’s call him Mr. Bun, had a problem: The owner of his favorite noodle shop would not buy his fuel-efficient cookstove, even though the new stove…
The annual Global Social Venture Competition, launched by students at Berkeley-Haas in 1999 and still run by students today, attracted 575 entries from 50 countries this year. The winners, determined in the finals here on…
It doesn’t get much attention, but the Obama administration has embraced a venture-capital approach for catalyzing innovative solutions to urgent social problems. Laura Tyson and Jonathan Greenblatt, director of the White House’s Office of Social…
By Omar Romero-Hernández and Sergio Romero-Hernández Like many other nations, Mexico has been half-hearted about increasing its use of renewable energy. In theory, political leaders recognize the benefits – reduced carbon emissions and particulate pollution;…
William Fuchs Even at an institution like Berkeley-Haas, it’s not always easy to raise money for research projects. So when two of my colleagues and I had an idea last year for a project in…
Part of our mission at the Institute for Business and Social Impact is to shed light on the interplay between for-profit business, the public sector and urgent public problems. In a recent column for the…