Biography
McConnell works on environmental issues related to air pollution and urban transportation. Her recent focus has been on the link between urban growth and the environment; specifically, she is evaluating policies to reduce vehicle pollution, programs to scrap old cars, inspection and maintenance programs, and emission taxes. She also is studying the role of economic incentives to achieve more efficient urban growth.
McConnell is a professor of economics at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. She recently served on the National Academy of Sciences' Committee to Review the Effectiveness of Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs, and has been a member of several U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advisory committees, including the Mobile Source Technical Review, a subcommittee of the Clean Air Act advisory committee.
Ph.D. in economics, University of Maryland, 1978.
B.A. in economics, Smith College, 1969.
Professional Experience
Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Department of Economics, 1982 - present.
Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, Quality of the Environment Division, 1995 - present.
Research Associate and Lecturer, University of Maryland, Department of Economics, Bureau of Business and Economic Research; Project Leader for Regional Environmental Model and for Urban Forecasting Model, 1979 - 1982.
Instructor, Assistant Professor, University of Rhode Island, Department of Economics, 1975 - 1979.
Journal Articles
Zoning, TDRs, and the density of development Virginia McConnell, Margaret Walls, and Elizabeth Kopits Journal of Urban Economics | 2006 | vol. 59 | 440-457
Using Markets for Land Preservation: Results of a TDR program Virginia McConnell, Elizabeth Kopits and Margaret Walls Journal of Environmental Planning and Management | September 2006 | Related Discussion Paper 03-08
Making Markets for Development Rights Work: What Determines Demand? Elizabeth Kopits, Virginia McConnell, Margaret Walls Land Economics | Related Discussion Paper 05-45
Zoning, TDRs, and the Density of Development Virginia McConnell, Margaret Walls, and Elizabeth Kopits Journal of Urban Economics | forthcoming 2006 | Related Discussion Paper 05-32
Farmland Preservation and REsidential Density: Can Development Rights Markets Effect Land Use Change? Virginia McConnell, Elizabeth Kopits and Margaret Walls Agricultural and Resource Economics Review | October 2005 | vol. 34, no.2 | 131-144
Options for a Lighter Tread: Policy and Technology Options for Motor Vehicles Winston Harrington and Virginia McConnell Environment | November 2003 | Vol. 45, No. 9 | pp. 21-38
Are Vehicle Emission Inspection Programs Living Up to Expectations? Winston Harrington, Amy Ando, and Virginia D. McConnell Transportation Research | May 2000 | Part D, Vol. 5, No. 3
Costs, Emissions Reductions and Vehicle Repair: Evidence from Arizona Amy Ando, Winston Harrington, and Virginia McConnell Journal of Air and Waste Management | April 2000 | Vol. 50 | pp. 509-521
Estimating Full IM240 Emissions from Partial Test Results: Evidence from Arizona Winston Harrington, Amy Ando, and Virginia McConnell Journal of Air and Waste Management | 1999 | Vol. 49 | pp. 1153-1167
Estimating an Emissions Supply Function from Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Programs Winston Harrington, Anna Alberini, and Virginia D. McConnell The Review of Economics and Statistics | 1996 | Vol. 78, No. 2 | pp. 251-265
Determinants of Participation in Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Programs Anna Alberini, Winston Harrington, and Virginia D. McConnell RAND Journal of Economics | Spring 1995 | Vol. 26, No. 1
Shifting Gears: New Directions for Cars and Clean Air Winston Harrington, Margaret A. Walls, and Virginia D. McConnell Energia | 1995 | Vol. 16, No. 4 (In Italian)
Using Economic Incentives to Reduce Auto Pollution Winston Harrington, Margaret Walls, and Virginia McConnell Issues in Science and Technology | Winter 1994/1995 | Vol. 11, No. 2 Retitled as "Driving Our Way to Cleaner Air."
Modeling In-Use Vehicle Emissions and the Effects of Inspection and Maintenance Programs Winston Harrington and Virginia McConnell Journal of Air and Waste Management | June 1994 | Vol. 44, No. 6 | pp. 794-799
Local Choice and Wastewater Treatment Plant Performance Gregory E. Schwarz and Virginia D. McConnell Water Resources Research | June 1993 | Vol. 29, No. 6 | pp. 1589-1600
The Supply and Demand for Pollution Control: Evidence from Wastewater Treatment Virginia McConnell and Gregory Schwarz Journal of Environmental Economics and Management | June 1992 | Vol. 23 | pp. 54-77
Costs and Benefits of Vehicle Emission Inspection: A Case Study of the Maryland Region Virginia D. McConnell Journal of Environmental Management | Winter 1990 | Vol. 30 | pp. 1-15
The Impact of Environmental Regulations on Industry Location Decisions: The Motor Vehicle Industry Virginia McConnell and Robert Schwab Land Economics | February 1990 | Vol. 66, No. 1 | pp. 67-81
The Impact of Environmental Regulations on Industry Productivity: Direct and Indirect Effects Anthony Barbera and Virginia McConnell Journal of Environmental Economics and Management | January 1990 | Vol. 18 | pp. 50-65
Regional Marginal Costs and Economies of Scale in Municipal Waste Treatment: An Application to the Chesapeake Bay Virginia D. McConnell, John H. Cumberland, and Patrice Gordon Growth and Change | Fall 1988 | Vol. 19, No. 4 | pp. 1-13
Surpluses in Equilibrium Land Markets Curtis C. Harris and Virginia D. McConnell Journal of the American Real Estate & Urban Economics Association | Winter 1987 | Vol. 15, No. 4 | pp. 359-373
Effects of Pollution Control on Industry Productivity Anthony J. Barbera and Virginia D. McConnell Journal of Industrial Economics | January 1987 | Vol. 35, No. 2 | pp. 161-172
Forecasting Municipal Waste Treatment Effluent and Costs: An Application of the Chesapeake Bay Virginia D. McConnell, John H. Cumberland, and Patrice Gordon Review of Regional Studies | Spring 1986 | No. 2 | pp. 11-22
Automobile Use and Locational Interdependencies Virginia D. McConnell Journal of Regional Science | 1986 | Vol. 26, No. 3 | pp. 475-498
A Model for Forecasting the Economic and Environmental Impact of Energy Policy Curtis C. Harris, Jr., John H. Cumberland, and Virginia D. McConnell Energy Economics | July 1984 | pp. 167-176
Auto Pollution and Congestion in an Urban Model: An Analysis of Alternative Strategies Virginia D. McConnell and Mahlon Straszheim Journal of Urban Economics | January 1982 | Vol. 11 | pp. 11-31
Estimating Net Benefits of Recreation Under Conditions of Excess Demand Virginia D. McConnell and Kenneth E. McConnell Journal of Environmental Economics and Management | March 1976 | Vol. 2 | pp. 224-230
A Market Approach to Land Preservation Elizabeth Kopits, Virginia McConnell, and Margaret Walls The RFF Reader in Environmental and Resource Policy, 2nd Edition | Wallace E. Oates, ed. | RFF Press | December 2005 | Chapter 26, pp. 151-157
Evaluating Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs
Virginia D. McConnell (co-author as member of National Research Council) Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences | 2001
Coase and Car Repair: Who Should Be Responsible for Emissions of Vehicles in Use? Winston Harrington and Virginia D. McConnell Property Rights, Economics and the Environment | Michael Kaplowitz and Michael Lawrence | Stamford, CT: JAI Press, Inc. | 2000
Shifting Gears: New Directions for Cars and Clean Air Winston Harrington, Margaret Walls, and Virginia McConnell The RFF Reader in Environmental and Resource Management | Wallace Oates | RFF Press | 1999
A Behavioral Analysis of EPA's Mobile Emission Factor Model
Winston Harrington, Virginia McConnell, and Matt Cannon U.S. Department of Transportation | June 1998 (Federal Highway Administration Report)
Trans-Boundary Airshed Management as an Approach to Trans-Boundary Water Cooperation: The Case of the Chesapeake Bay David Austin, Alan Krupnick, and Virginia McConnell Conflict and Cooperation on Trans-Boundary Water Resources | Richard Just and Sinaia Netanyahu, eds. | Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers | 1998
Economic Incentive Policies under Uncertainty: The Case of Vehicle Emission Fees Winston Harrington, Virginia D. McConnell, and Anna Alberini Environment and Transport in Economic Modelling | Ken Small and Roberto Roson, eds. | Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishing | 1998
Who's in the Driver's Seat? Mobile Source Emission Policy in the U.S. Federal System Winston Harrington, Virginia D. McConnell, and Margaret Walls Economic Aspects of Environmental Policy Making in a Federal State | John Braden and Stef Proost, eds. | Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing, Ltd. | 1998
Cost-Effectiveness of Remote Sensing of Vehicle Emissions Winston Harrington and Virginia McConnell Cost-Effective Approaches to Control of Urban Smog | Richard Kosobud, ed. | Chicago, IL: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago | 1993 (Presented at the Conference on Urban Smog, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, June 1993.)
Short Articles, Issue Briefs, and Other Publications
Economic Incentive Policies Under Uncertainty:
The Case of Vehicle Emissions Fees Winston Harrington, Virginia D. McConnell, and Anna Alberini RFF Discussion Paper 96-32 | August 1996 | Abstract
Evaluating the Costs of Compliance with Mobile Source Emission Control Requirements: Retrospective Analysis Virginia D. McConnell, Margaret A. Walls, and Winston Harrington RFF Discussion Paper 95-36 | August 1995 | Abstract An electronic version of this report is not available.
The Multiregional, Multi-Industry Environmental Model: An Overview Curtis C. Harris, Jr., Virginia D. McConnell, and John H. Cumberland University of Maryland | November 1982
Selected Presentations
Markets for Preserving Farmland in Maryland Making TDR Programs Work Better Margaret Walls Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology Board of Directors Meeting | Queenstown, Maryland | May 14, 2007 Land use Forum for Local Governments, Linthicum, MD, 6/13/07
sponsored by Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology
Zoning, TDRs, and the Density of Development Virginia McConnell American Economic Association Meetings | Philadelphia, PA | January 1, 2005 Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education, UMBC, Baltimore Maryland, February 11, 2005
The Chesapeake Bay and the Control of NOx Emissions: A Policy Analysis Virginia D. McConnell Southern Economics Association | New Orleans, LA | November 1, 1999
Incentives to Reduce NOx Emissions with Joint Benefits Alan J. Krupnick and Virginia D. McConnell Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) Economics Incentive Workshop | AERE | Cambridge, MA | July 19, 1999
I/M Performance: Predictions and Evidence Virginia D. McConnell Clean Air Conference | Breckenridge, CO | September 1, 1998
The Economics of Vehicle Emissions Repair Virginia D. McConnell First World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists | Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, and Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei | Venice, Italy | June 1, 1998
The Role of Economic Incentives in Mobile Source Policies Virginia D. McConnell North American Motor Vehicle Emissions (NAMVECC) Conference | NAMVECC | Los Angeles, CA | March 1, 1998
Allocating Joint Costs and Ancillary Benefits of NOx Control: An Application to the Chesapeake Bay David Austin, Alan J. Krupnick, and Virginia D. McConnell International Water and Resource Economics Consortium Conference: Conflict and Cooperation on Trans-boundary Water Resources | International Water and Resource Economics Consortium | Annapolis, MD | April 1, 1997
Mobile Sources and Air Pollution Policy: International Experience and Recommendations for Bogota, Colombia Alan J. Krupnick, Virginia D. McConnell, and Eduardo Uribe Botero Conference on Environmental Economic Policies in the U.S. and Colombia | Bogotá, Colombia | September 1, 1996
Economic Incentive Policies under Uncertainty: The Case of Vehicle Emission Fees Winston Harrington, Virginia McConnell, and Anna Alberini 1996 Seventh Annual Conference | European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists | Lisbon, Portugal | June 1, 1996
Fleet Turnover and Old Car Scrap Policies Anna Alberini, Winston Harrington, and Virginia D. McConnell American Economic Association (AEA) Annual Meeting | AEA | San Francisco, CA | January 1, 1996
Economic Incentive Policies and Uncertainty in Policies to Reduce Vehicle Emissions Winston Harrington, Virginia McConnell, and Anna Alberini Southern Economic Association (SEA) Meeting | SEA | New Orleans, LA | November 1, 1995
Who's in the Driver's Seat? Mobile Source Policy in the Federal System Virginia D. McConnell Symposium on Economic Aspects of Environmental Policy Making in a Federal System | Leuven, Belgium | June 1, 1995 (Invited paper)
The Economics of Remote Sensing of Motor Vehicle Emissions Virginia D. McConnell 1993 Fourth Annual Conference | European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists | Fontainebleau, France | July 1, 1993
The Cost Effectiveness of Remote Sensing of Motor Vehicle Emissions Virginia D. McConnell and Winston Harrington Conference on Urban Smog | Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago | Chicago, IL | June 1, 1993
Remote Sensing of Motor Vehicle Emissions: Can It Replace I&M Programs? Virginia D. McConnell American Economic Association (AEA) Annual Meeting | AEA | Anaheim, CA | January 1, 1993
The Supply and Demand for Pollution Control: Evidence From Wastewater Treatment Virginia D. McConnell American Economic Association (AEA) Annual Meeting | AEA | Washington, D.C. | December 1, 1990
Do Environmental Regulations Affect Industry Location Decisions? Virginia D. McConnell Western Regional Science Association | Molokai, HI | January 1, 1990
The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Industry Location Decisions: The Motor Vehicle Industry Virginia D. McConnell Western Economic Association (WEA) Meetings | WEA | Los Angeles, CA | July 1, 1988
Regional Differences in Manufacturing Productivity Growth and Input Substitution Virginia D. McConnell Regional Science Association (RSA) Meetings | RSA | Baltimore, MD | November 1, 1987
The Economic Value of the Chesapeake Bay John H. Cumberland and Virginia D. McConnell Workshop on Chesapeake Bay Management | House of Delegates of the Maryland General Assembly, Environmental Matters Committee | June 1, 1983
The Role of Financial Incentive Programs on Economic Development in Rhode Island Virginia D. McConnell and Arthur Mead Rhode Island Governor's Conference on Urban Development | January 1, 1979
Awards
Gilbert White Research Fellowship, Resources for the Future, 1991 - 1992.
Professional Activities
Editorial Activities: Editorial Board, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 1996 - 1997.
Reviewer: Projects for National Science Foundation, Sea Grant.
Journal Referee: Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
Review of Regional Studies
Land Economics
Marine Resource Economics
Water Resources Research
International Economic Review
Public Service
"The Role of Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance in Maryland Under the Clean Air Act." Delivered to the Maryland House of Delegate, Environmental Matters Committee, July 11, 1995.
"Economic Issues in Recycling Solid Waste." Delivered to the Maryland House of Delegates, Environmental Matters Committee, September 1991.
Panels and Symposiums: Air Quality Subcommittee, Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee on the Chesapeake Bay, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Chesapeake Bay Program, 1993 - 2002.
Clean Air Advisory Committee, Innovative and Incentive-Based Policies Workgroup, Mobile Sources Technical Advisory Subcommittee, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1994 - 2002.
Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Commission on Life Sciences, Committee to Review the Effectiveness of Vehicle Emission Inspection and Maintenance Programs, 2000 - 2001.
Discussant, Meetings of the American Economic Association, "Responses of Firm and Agencies to Environmental Regulation," New Orleans, LA, January 2001.
Presenter, Meeting of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), "Research on Vehicle Emissions: Costs and Effectiveness of I/M Programs," Washington, D.C., Fall 2000.
Chair of session, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economics (EAERE), Rethymnon, Crete, Greece, July 2000.
Co-Chair of Mobile Source Innovative and Incentive Policies Workgroup, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1997 - 1999.
Chair of session, and speaker, Clean Air Conference, Aspen, CO, September 1999.
Review Panel, University of California Santa Barbara, "The Petroleum Extraction Industry in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties California: Economic, Fiscal, Institutional, Social and Historic Considerations," 1997 - 1998.
Chair for "Externalities and the Automobile," Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, at the American Economic Association Meetings, San Francisco, CA, January 1996.
Contributed Papers Selection Committee for Annual Meetings, Association of Environmental and Resource Economics (AERE), 1993-1995.
"Shifting Gears: New Directions for Cars and Clean Air," meeting of urban transportation policy makers and academics, Atlanta, GA, October 1994.
Moderator for Focus Groups, "Public Perception and Acceptance of Emission Fees in Southern California," Los Angeles, CA, October 1994.
Chair for "Economic Incentive Policies for Natural Resources," Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, at the American Economic Association Meetings, Boston, MA, January 1994.
