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Paul Pierson

John Gross Endowed Chair, Professor of Political Science
Email
Website
Current Status
Teaching
Phone
510 643-6424
Office
850B Social Sciences Building
Office Hours
Thurs. 12-2PM
Personal Statement

Paul Pierson is the John Gross Distinguished Professor of Political Science at  Berkeley, where he also directs the newly established Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative (BESI). Pierson is the author or co-author of six books and numerous journal articles, along with a wide range of popular writings on American politics and public policy. Four of his books have been co-authored by Jacob Hacker. Their latest book is Let Them Eat Tweets: How the Right Rules in an Age of Extreme Inequality. Previously, the two wrote American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us to Forget What Made America Prosper—a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice, and Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class. Prior to this Pierson wrote Politics in Time: History, Institutions and Social Analysis (2004) and Dismantling the Welfare State? Reagan, Thatcher and the Politics of Retrenchment (1994). Material from each of these books received major prizes from the American Political Science Association. A former Guggenheim Fellow and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, his recent honors include election to the American Academy of Political and Social Science as the 2022 Robert A. Dahl Fellow.

Research Interests
Public Policy
Political Economy
American Politics
Degrees
B.A., Government, Oberlin College
M.A., Political Science, Yale University
M.Phil., Political Science, Yale University
Ph.D., Political Science, Yale University