The Occupy Wall Street protests that began in New York and have flared up across the country are grabbing headlines and eliciting strong opinions about corporate America, income equity and democracy. UC scholars also have weighed in, adding their expert voices to the discourse. 

UC Berkeley economics professor and MacArthur fellow Emmanuel Saez has studied income gaps and his research shows that the so-called 99 percent movement has its basis in fact. Saez and French economist Thomas Piketty published research in 2008 that showed the top 1 percent of American households accounted for about two-thirds of all income gains from 2002 to 2007.

In a Q&A with UC Berkeley News Center, Saez expresses support for the protests and offers his take on how government policies can affect wealth distribution and economic growth.

Franklin D. Gilliam Jr., dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, writes in a FrameWorks Institute blog post that the protests must move beyond flash mob politics to have a real impact.

The movement, "will ultimately have to develop a core narrative that explains its preferred policy and action agenda. Finally, it is hard to imagine that Occupy will be able to sustain its efforts without a leadership structure and a 'face' of the group," Gilliam wrote in his post, which was republished at UCLA Today.

UC Riverside regulatory reform expert John Cioffi also says that the movement may fizzle without more organization and structure.

"For a social movement to perpetuate itself and effect change, it must develop or affiliate with a leadership and organizational structure able to wield power, develop specific demands, and fashion them into a coherent programmatic agenda — all without losing the enthusiasm of the base," Cioffi said in a UCR Newsroom story. "This is a transformation that few movements can manage, and it often requires some portion of the political or economic elite to ally themselves with the cause."