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Ernesto Dal Bó - Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES

Ernesto Dal Bó

Phillips Girgich Professor of Business | Distinguished Teaching Fellow | Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA, UNITED STATES

Areas of Expertise (5)

Political Economy

Democratic Institutions and Collective Decision-making

Influence and Corruption

Morality, Coercion, and Conflict

State Formation and State Capabilities

About

Ernesto Dal Bó is a political economist interested in governance broadly understood. His research focuses on a range of topics: political influence, social conflict, corruption, morality and social norms, state formation, the development of state capabilities, and the qualities and behavior of politicians and public servants. Most of his teaching takes place in the Berkeley MBA program and at the doctoral level where he teaches courses on political economy.

Education (4)

University of Oxford: DPhil, Economics

University of Oxford: MPhil, Economics

University of Buenos Aires: Masters, Economic Policy

University of Buenos Aires: Licentiate in Economics

Honors & Awards (7)

Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching

PhD Program 2020

Hellman Family Faculty Fund Award

2006

Schwabacher Fellowship Award

2005-2006

Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching, Full-Time MBA Program

2004

Special Mention, Earl Cheit Outstanding Teaching Award, PhD

2004

J. Rank and C.A.W. Manning Junior Research Fellowship in Social Studies

New College, Oxford

Royal Economic Society Fellowship (Recipient)

2000

Selected External Service & Affiliations (4)

  • Co-Director: Berkeley Center for Economics and Politics (BCEP)
  • Faculty Board: Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA)
  • Research Associate – National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
  • Research Affiliate – International Growth Centre (IGC)

Positions Held (1)

At Haas since 2003

2013 – present, Phillips Girgich Professor of Business, Haas School of Business 2008 – present, Associate Professor of Political Science, Travers Department of Political Science, UC Berkeley 2010 – 2013, Harold Furst Chair in Management Philosophy and Values, Haas School of Business 2008 – 2010, Associate Professor of Business and Public Policy, Haas School of Business 2007 – 2008, Associate Professor of Political Economy, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University 2004 – 2007, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Travers Department of Political Science, UC Berkeley 2003 – 2007, Assistant Professor of Business and Public Policy, Haas School of Business

Media Appearances (3)

Corporate Responsibility and The Two Minds of Milton Friedman

ProMarket  online

2020-11-16

Though people tend to quote the first half of Milton Friedman's statement that corporate executives' “responsibility is to conduct the business in accordance with [the owners’] desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible…," they forget the second half of the quote: "...while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom.” Former Haas Dean Rich Lyons, the William & Janet Cronk Chair in Innovative Leadership, and Ernesto Dal Bó, the Phillips Girgich Professor of Business, argue that this respect for "ethical custom" is a constraint on the unrestrained pursuit of profits, and leads to a useful definition of corporate social responsibility.

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Why People Vote for Counterproductive Policies

The Atlantic  online

2016-12-26

“The sirens’ call is very strong,” said Ernesto Dal Bó, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and one of the paper’s co-authors. “They should vote to go to the new game. In equilibrium, they’re going to make a higher payoff. The problem is, even with very smart individuals … they don’t.”

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UC Berkeley professors, alumni create startup to combat money in politics

The Daily Californian  online

2016-01-11

“Campaigns have gotten very costly,” said Ernesto Dal Bo, co-director of the Berkeley Center for Economics and Politics and associate professor in the campus political science department. “The barrier to entry for unorganized interests in politics are very high. Similarly, the cost of entry for candidates that are not backed by organized interests is also very high. This organization is trying to lower the cost of entry”...

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Selected Papers & Publications (17)

Government Decentralization Under Changing State Capacity: Experimental Evidence From Paraguay


NBER Working Paper

Ernesto Dal Bó, Fred Finan, Nicholas Li, and Laura Schechter

2018

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Progress and Perspectives in the Study of Political Selection


Annual Review of Economics

Ernesto Dal Bó and Fred Finan

2018

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The Demand for Bad Policy When Voters Underappreciate Equilibrium Effects


Review of Economic Studies

Ernesto Dal Bó. Pedro Dal Bó, and Erik Eyster

2018

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Who Becomes a Politician?


Quarterly Journal of Economics

Ernesto Dal Bó, Fred Finan, Olle Folke, Torsten Persson and Johanna Rickne

2017

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The Economics of Faith: Using an Apocalyptic Prophecy to Elicit Religious Beliefs in the Field


Journal of Public Economics

Ernesto Dal Bó, Ned Augenblick, Jesse Cunha, and Justin Rao

2016

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"Do the Right Thing:" The Effects of Moral Suasion on Cooperation


Journal of Public Economics

Ernesto Dal Bó and Pedro Dal Bó

2014

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Strengthening State Capabilities: The Role of Financial Incentives in the Call to Public Service


Quarterly Journal of Economics

Ernesto Dal Bó, Frederico Finan, and Martín Rossi

2013

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Self-Esteem, Moral Capital, and Wrongdoing


Journal of the European Economic Association

Ernesto Dal Bó and Marko Terviö

2013

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Term Length and the Effort of Politicians


The Review of Economic Studies

Ernesto Dal Bó, Martín A. Rossi

2011

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Workers, Warriors and Criminals: Social Conflict in General Equilibrium


Journal of the European Economic Association

Ernesto Dal Bó and Pedro Dal Bó

2011

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Term Length and the Effort of Politicians


Review of Economic Studies

Ernesto Dal Bó and Martín Rossi

2011

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A Model of Spoils Politics


American Journal of Political Science

Ernesto Dal Bó and Robert Powell

2009

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Political Dynasties


Review of Economic Studies

Ernesto Dal Bó, Pedro Dal Bó, and Jason Snyder

2007

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Bribing Voters


American Journal of Political Science

Ernesto Dal Bó

2007

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Regulatory Capture: A Review


Oxford Review of Economic Policy

Ernesto Dal Bó

2006

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Plata o Plomo [Silver or Lead]?: Bribe and Punishment in a Theory of Political Influence


American Political Science Review

Ernesto Dal Bó, Pedro Dal Bó, and Rafael Di Tella

2006

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Capture by Threat


Ernesto Dal Bó and Rafael Di Tella

Journal of Political Economy

2003

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Teaching (3)

Political Economy

Berkeley Haas PhD program

States, Elites, and Bureaucracies

Political Science PhD program

Ethics and Responsible Business Leadership

MBA and EWMBA programs

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