Dhammika Dharmapala

Dhammika Dharmapala is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, where he joined in 2023 after holding the Paul H. and Theo Leffmann Professorship of Commercial Law at the University of Chicago Law School. He holds a PhD in Economics from UC Berkeley and degrees in Economics from the University of Western Australia. His research focuses on taxation, corporate finance, law and economics, and securities regulation, with notable work on international tax policy, profit shifting, and regulatory responses. Dharmapala currently serves as Co-Editor of the Journal of Law and Economics, an International Research Fellow at Oxford’s Centre for Business Taxation, and Co-President of the Society for Empirical Legal Studies.

His scholarship has been published in leading journals across law, economics, and finance, including the University of Chicago Law Review. Key contributions include analyzing the 2017 U.S. tax reform, demonstrating firms’ responses to securities regulation via bunching approaches, and exploring tax haven dynamics. His work frequently intersects with policy debates, gaining attention in outlets like The Economist and Bloomberg Businessweek.

• Education:
• PhD in Economics, UC Berkeley (Thesis awarded National Tax Association Prize)
• M.Ec. and B.Ec., University of Western Australia

Professional roles include advisory positions at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and membership in the American Law and Economics Association. He has held visiting posts at Harvard, Oxford, and the IMF, among others.

His awards include the 2023 Distinguished Article Prize from the American Law and Economics Association and recognition for his doctoral thesis. Dharmapala’s research also extends to policing, voter behavior, and legislative processes, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach to legal and economic analysis.