B. T. Rocca Jr. Chair in International Trade | Professor
Business & Public Policy
Leading expert in political economy, applied economics, and applied econometrics
About
Francesco Trebbi is a Professor of Business and Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and research fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). Before joining Berkeley, he was Canada Research Chair and Professor of Economics at the University of British Columbia Vancouver School of Economics and Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He received his PhD in Economics from Harvard University in 2006.
His academic research focuses on political economy and applied economics more broadly. He has worked on political institutions and their design, elections, political behavior, campaign finance, lobbying, and regulation. He has also worked on the political economy of development, ethnic politics, and conflict. His primary teaching interests are in political economy, applied economics, and applied econometrics.
Expertise and Research Interests
- American Political System
- Banking
- Structural Econometrics
- Political Economy
- Applied Economics
- Regulation
- Lobbying
- Francesco Trebbi, Nathan Canen and Chad Kendall. Unbundling Polarization. Econometrica.
2020 - Francesco Trebbi and Matilde Bombardini. Empirical Models of Lobbying. Annual Review of Economics.
2019 - Francesco Trebbi, Marianne Bertrand, Matilde Bombardini, and Ray Fisman. Tax-Exempt Lobbying: Corporate Philanthropy as a Tool for Political Influence. American Economic Review.
2019 - Francesco Trebbi, Drew Shaver, Eric Weese, and Austin Wright. Insurgent Learning. Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy.
2018 - Francesco Trebbi and Eric Weese. Insurgency and Small Wars: Estimation of Unobserved Coalition Structures. Econometrica.
2018 - Francesco Trebbi and Adlai Newson. Authoritarian Elites. Canadian Journal of Economics.
2018 - Francesco Trebbi, Alberto Alesina and Guido Tabellini. Is Europe an Optimal Political Area?. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.
2017 - Francesco Trebbi and Kairong Xiao. Regulation and Market Liquidity. Management Science.
2016 - Francesco Trebbi and Ilia Rainer. New Tools for the Analysis of Political Power in Africa. African Successes: Government and Institutions.
2015 - Francesco Trebbi, Atif Mian and Amir Sufi. Foreclosures, House Prices, and the Real Economy. Journal of Finance.
2015
- Hall of Mirrors: Corporate Philanthropy and Strategic Advocacy
Francesco Trebbi, Marianne Bertrand, Matilde Bombardini, Ray Fisman, and Brad Hackinen (2020) - Making Policies Matter: Voter Responses to Campaign Promises
Francesco Trebbi, Cesi Cruz, Phil Keefer, and Julien Labonne (2020) - Endogenous Networks and Legislative Activity
Francesco Trebbi, Nathan Canen and Matt Jackson (2020) - Factions in Nondemocracies: Theory and Evidence from the Chinese Communist Party
Francesco Trebbi, Patrick Francois and Kairong Xiao (2017) - The Dictator’s Inner Circle
Francesco Trebbi, Patrick Francois and Ilia Rainer (2015) - A Theory of Minimalist Democracy
Francesco Trebbi, Chris Bidner and Patrick Francois (2015) - Gains from Distortions in Congested City Networks
Francesco Trebbi and Matilde Bombardini (2012) - Gains from Distortions in Congested City Networks
Francesco Trebbi and Matilde Bombardini (2012) - Measuring Central Bank Communication: An Automated Approach with Application to FOMC Statements
Francesco Trebbi and David Lucca (2011)
At Haas since 2020
Jul. 2020-present, Professor of Business and Public Policy, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
2014-2020, Professor of Economics, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia
2011-2014, Associate Professor of Economics, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia
2010- 2011, Assistant Professor of Economics, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia
2017- 2018, Visiting Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, Stanford University
2006- 2010, Assistant Professor of Economics, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago
- National Bureau of Economic Research, Research Associate
- Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research Fellow
- Italian
Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), Research Fellow
2019 – present
Bank of Canada, Fellowship Award
2016
American Economic Review, Excellence in Refereeing Award
2017, 2014
Government of Canada, Canada Research Chair in Economics (Tier 1)
2015
University of British Columbia, Killam Faculty Research Prize
2013
Canadian Economics Association, John Rae Prize
2014
Red Rock Conference, Best Paper Award
2012
Bank of Canada, Governor’s Award
2012
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Research Associate
2011 – present
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Faculty Research Fellow
2007 – 2011
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Fellow
2010 – 2019
Standard Research Grant
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
2011 – 2013
Insight Grant
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
2014 – 2018
Africa Success Grant
National Bureau of Economic Research
2010 – 2011
Project Grants
Initiative on Global Markets, University of Chicago
2006 – 2010
- Special interests poured more than half a billion into California lobbying last year, CalMatters, 04/21/2025
- How next Trump administration may tackle economy, immigration, and health, BBC News, 11/07/2024
- Elon Musk has a lot to gain if Trump wins. A Harris presidency is more uncertain, Business Insider, 11/04/2024
- Can AI improve one of the most expensive (and boring) parts of work?, Fast Company, 09/11/2024
- Politicians claim regulation hurts small businesses. When you look at real-world data, the truth is more complicated, Fortune, 09/10/2024
- The growing clout of institutional investors: Are they wielding political influence?, Hoover Institution, 05/30/2024
- BigMoneySF: How public pressure groups use (and abuse?) U.S. tax law, Mission Local, 05/03/2024
- Bank merger guidance, cannabis banking safe harbor expected in 2022, S&P Global Market Intelligence, 12/28/2021
- Haas School of Business study shows how donations shape nonprofit stances and policies, Daily Californian, 10/06/2021
- Gavin Newsom’s disastrous dinner photo is a major PR coup for lobbyist friend, Newsweek, 11/19/2020
- Data and Decisions, FTMBA 200