2026 Best 40-Under-40 Business Professors: Jonathan Weigel, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business 

 

Jonathan Weigel
UC Berkeley Haas School of Business 

 “Professor Jonathan Weigel has brought an extraordinary perspective to Haas’s core Business Ethics course, drawing on his decade of fieldwork in one of the world’s poorest countries and most challenging governance environments. While many professors approach ethics theoretically, Weigel‘s teaching is inspired by his experiences confronting real ethical dilemmas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Since joining Haas in 2021, Weigel has enhanced the ethics curriculum through several innovations. He developed new sessions about social media and mental illness, artificial intelligence and intellectual property, and gene editing. He also introduced interactive polling technology to diversify participation and assessment. These innovations have earned him membership in Haas’ elite “Club Six” for teaching excellence over three consecutive years.

“Weigel serves as Faculty Director of the Center for Responsible Business at Berkeley Haas and leads judging for the Haas Sustainable Business Research Prize, connecting his classroom teaching with broader initiatives promoting responsible business practices. His exceptional classroom performance, combined with his leadership in business ethics, demonstrates how lived experience in challenging ethical environments can transform business education.” – Laura Counts

Jonathan Weigel is an Assistant Professor of Business and Public Policy at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). His research sits at the intersection of political economy, development economics, and public finance, with a focus on how fragile states can build fiscal capacity and more accountable governance. His work is primarily based in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Myanmar, Haiti, and Nepal.  

Weigel founded ODEKA (l’Organisation des Etudes Economiques sur le Kasaï) in 2015, a nonprofit research lab that works closely with the provincial tax authority of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The organization currently employs 50 staff and another 50 contractors. Working in close partnership with the Congolese government, he has spent over a decade designing and evaluating large-scale randomized controlled trials on taxation, local governance, and citizen accountability in Kananga, DRC — one of the world’s poorest and most fragile urban settings. 

His research has been published in leading economics journals including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the American Economic Review, the Review of Economic Studies, and Econometrica. Weigel is the recipient of UC Berkeley’s 2025 Philomathia Prize, an annual award recognizing an early career faculty member for exceptional promise.  

BACKGROUND 

At current institution since what year? 2021 

Education: BA, Harvard University (Social Studies); PhD, Harvard University (Political Economy and Government) 

List of MBA/graduate business courses you currently teach: Ethics and Responsibility in Business (MBA core course, full-time and evening programs) 

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR 

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when… I came to this job in an unusual way. In college, I took a class taught by Paul Farmer, and it changed my sense of what change we could try to bring to the world. I eventually spent two years working with him at Partners In Health, and it was that experience that led me to later study economics with a focus on governance and state capacity—issues I believe are at the root of poverty, poor health care, and the insecurity that plagues so-called “fragile states.” I believe the Business and Public Policy group at Haas is probably best place in the world to do the kind of applied political economy of development work I am passionate about. I feel very lucky to have landed here. 

What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? My research examines how fragile states can build fiscal capacity. I pursue this question through large-scale randomized controlled trials embedded in the provincial tax system in Kananga, DRC — a city of 1.6 million people. 

We recently helped the government build its first database of building locations and values in Kananga using drone imagery, AI-assisted rooftop detection, a field survey of all 135,000 properties, and a training dataset of expert valuations. After mass-assessing all buildings, we helped the government conduct a city-wide randomized evaluation of proportional or progressive property tax schedules. Progressive property taxation both raised more revenue and shifted the burden off the poor (especially when paired with targeted enforcement). I am hopeful this result will lead other local governments to adopt progressive property taxation to build a reliable tax base in a way that is less regressive than most alternatives.  

If I weren’t a business school professor… I’d probably be running a nonprofit focused on evidence-based governance in fragile states. Maybe that is a copout. I would also be interested in a career as a Dúnedain ranger, but I fear I lack certain qualifications. 

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I suppose I do research in places where not many business professors work. But with extreme poverty increasingly concentrated in fragile states, I don’t think we can afford to neglect these countries. I find running ODEKA—working with and learning from my Congolese partners—to be the most rewarding part of my job.  

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: That teaching MBA students requires a different set of skills than anything your PhD trains you for, and that’s actually a fun challenge. My students are accomplished, opinionated, and have no patience for irrelevance. They’ve pushed me to be clear about why the material we study matters.  

Professor I most admire and why: Along with Paul Farmer, I would say James Robinson. He got me to the DRC in the first place, and he has this (contagious) allergy against asking “inside the box” questions. He also loves African society and culture so much, and this love animates his work and his career. I find that super inspiring. At Haas, I am fortunate to be surrounded by brilliant, kind colleagues who push me to become a better scholar. I am particularly indebted to Ernesto Dal Bó and Guo Xu who taught me how to teach business ethics. 

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? The diversity of experience in the room. In an ethics class, a student who has worked in conflict zones, another who has run a startup, and another who spent a decade in finance all bring different moral intuitions — and those differences are the raw material of the best discussions.  

What is most challenging? Teaching Kant’s categorical imperative. Tale as old as time. 

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… Extremely ethical. 

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM 

What are your hobbies? Trail running with my partner and my dog. The bay area is an incredible natural playground. 

How will you spend your summer? A fieldwork trip to Kananga and then to Zambia to look into a new project on copper mining. Getting ready to submit my tenure packet… 

Favorite place(s) to vacation: Nepal. Mountains of the gods. 

Favorite book(s): All-time favorite: Lord of the Rings. More recent favorite: The God of Small Things. 

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? A Separation or Lives of Others are tied for the top spot – case studies in the human consequences of unjust state policies  

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? The Grateful Dead and Chris Thile – their music sets my spirit free 

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS 

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this… Engagement with the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people — not as potential markets or case study subjects, but as partners in defining the questions worth asking.  

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at… Taking seriously the governance environments in which they operate — particularly in fragile or low-capacity states. When companies invest in these contexts, they bring extraordinary leverage to shape institutions for better or worse. 

I’m grateful for… My colleagues and research partners in DRC who took a risk in working for ODEKA when I was a lowly grad student… 

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE 2026 ROSTER OF THE WORLD’S BEST 40-UNDER-40 GRADUATE BUSINESS PROFESSORS 

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