The Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE) is an interdisciplinary research project that focuses on international economic competition and the development and application of advanced technologies. Founded by a group of faculty at the University of California, Berkeley in 1982, BRIE research concentrates on the different ways industrialized economies create competitive advantage and how these differences affect international economic and political relations.

For nearly twenty years, BRIE has worked with academic, policy, and business leaders from around the world to consider the real-world interactions of technology, markets and economies. The framework of BRIE¹s ties to the academic and scientific community at UC Berkeley, to the business community in San Francisco, to the high-tech community in Silicon Valley, and to European researchers and policy leaders allows BRIE to reach a broad range of academic, public, and industry audiences. Above all, BRIE is a collaborative effort. Ongoing intellectual relationships that cross departmental boundaries anchors BRIE¹s vision and guarantees that separate research efforts inform and reinforce one another at every stage. This collaborative atmosphere permits the integration of distinct research approaches and diverse research concerns. These combination of knowledge and skills provides an entry point and leverage for an array of unconventional arguments and ideas in the policy debate.

Through articles, editorials, and books—including the landmark Manufaturing Matters, The Highest Stakes, and Who's Bashing Whom?—BRIE has earned the respect of academic, business, and policymakers. In 1984, BRIE drafted for President Reagan¹s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness what is now the commonly accepted definition of competitiveness. In 1993, President Clinton appointed one of BRIE¹s directors, Laura D¹Andrea Tyson, to chair the President¹s Council of Economic Advisers and later to head the National Economic Council. Bringing together UC faculty, policymakers, business leaders, and scholars from around the world, BRIE continues to pioneer the effort to understand our rapidly changing global economy.