Biography
Morgenstern's research focuses on the economic analysis of environmental issues with an emphasis on the costs, benefits, evaluation, and design of environmental policies, especially economic incentive measures. His analysis also focuses on climate change, including the design of cost-effective policies to reduce emissions in the United States and abroad.
Immediately prior to joining RFF, Morgenstern was senior economic counselor to the undersecretary for global affairs at the U.S. Department of State, where he participated in negotiations for the Kyoto Protocol. Previously he served at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he acted as deputy administrator (1993); assistant administrator for policy, planning, and evaluation (1991-93); and director of the Office of Policy Analysis (1983-95). Formerly a tenured professor at the City University of New York, Morgenstern has taught recently at Oberlin College, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Yeshiva University, and American University. He has served on expert committees of the National Academy of Sciences and as a consultant to various organizations.
Post-doctoral studies, Columbia University School of Business, 1974.
Ph.D. in economics, University of Michigan, 1970.
A.B. in economics, Oberlin College, 1966.
Professional Experience
Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, 2000 - present.
Distinguished Professor of Economics (Visiting), Oberlin College, 2000 - 2001.
Senior Economic Counselor to the Under Secretary for Global Affairs, U.S. Department of State, 1999 - 2000.
Professor of Public Policy and Management (Visiting), University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, 1999.
Visiting Scholar, Resources for the Future, 1995 - 1999.
Gottesman Distinguished Professor of Economics (Visiting), Yeshiva University, 1996 - 1997.
Professor of Economics (Adjunct), American University, 1994 - 1996.
Deputy Administrator (Acting), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1993.
Assistant Administrator for Policy, Planning and Evaluation (Acting), U.S.
Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Policy Analysis, 1982 - 1995.
Director, The Urban Institute, Energy Program, 1980 - 1982.
Legislative Assistant to Senator J. Bennett Johnston, 1979 - 1980.
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Energy, Natural Resources, and the Environment, Congressional Budget Office, 1976 - 1979.
Associate Professor, City University of New York, Queens College, Department of Economics (with tenure), 1971 - 1976.
Assistant Professor/Instructor, American University, Department of Economics, 1969 - 1970.
Journal Articles
Are Decisionmakers at Home on the Range? Richard D. Morgenstern, Alan Krupnick, and Peter Nelson Journal of Risk Research | forthcoming
The Near Term Impacts of Carbon Mitigation Policies on Manufacturing Industries Richard D. Morgenstern, M. Ho, J.S. Shih, and X. Zhang Energy Policy | November 2006 | Vol. 32, No. 16 | pp 1825-1841
Carbon Abatement Costs: Why the Wide Range of Estimates? Carolyn Fischer and Richard Morgenstern The Energy Journal | 2006 | Vol. 27, No. 2 | pp. 73-86 | Related Discussion Paper 03-42-REV
The Future of Cost-Benefit Analysis at EPA Richard Morgenstern and Alan Krupnick The Annual Review of Public Health | May 2002 | Vol. 23
Jobs Versus the Environment: An Industry-Level Perspective Richard D. Morgenstern, William A. Pizer, and Jhih-Shyang Shih Journal of Environmental Economics and Management | May 2002 | Vol. 43, no. 3 | pp. 412-436
The Cost of Environmental Protection William A. Pizer, Richard Morgenstern, and Jhih-Shyang Shih Review of Economics and Statistics | November 2001 | Vol. 83, No. 4 | pp. 732-738 | Related Discussion Paper 98-36
On the Accuracy of Regulatory Cost Estimates Winston Harrington, Richard D. Morgenstern, and Peter Nelson Journal of Policy Analysis and Management | Spring 2000 | Vol. 19, No. 2 | pp. 297-322 (Awarded the Vernon Prize for the best article published in JPAM in 2000.)
Comparative Risk Assessment: An International Comparison of Methodologies and Results Richard D. Morgenstern, Jhih-Shyang Shih, and Stuart Sessions Journal of Hazardous Materials | 2000 | Vol. 78 | pp. 19-39
Economics of "When" Flexibility in the Design of Greenhouse Gas Abatement Policies Richard D. Morgenstern, Mike A. Toman, and John Anderson Annual Review of Energy and the Environment | 1999 | Vol. 24 | Related Discussion Paper 99-38-REV
Does the Provision of Free Technical Information Really Influence Firm Behavior? Richard D. Morgenstern and Saadeh Al-Jurf Technological Forecasting and Social Change | 1999 | Vol. 61 | pp. 13-24
The Experience of the U.S. BTU Tax Richard D. Morgenstern and Roger Dower International Journal of Global Energy Issues | 1998 | Vol. 10, Nos. 2-4 | pp. 180-190
Trends in the Conduct and Use of Economic Analysis in Environmental Decisionmaking at the Federal Level Richard D. Morgenstern Human and Ecological Risk Assessment | 1998 | Vol. 4, No. 4 | pp. 953-970
Clearing the Air: Response Richard D. Morgenstern and Robert Brenner Regulation | December 1996 | No. 4
Environmental Taxes: Dead or Alive Richard D. Morgenstern Environment | April 1996 | Vol. 38, No. 3
Stimulating Technology to Slow Climate Change Raymond J. Kopp, Richard D. Morgenstern, Richard G. Newell, and William A. Pizer New Approaches on Energy and the Environment: Policy Advice for the President | Richard D. Morgenstern and Paul R. Portney, eds. | RFF Press | 2004 | Chapter 2
Trichloroethylene in the United States: Embracing Market-Based Approaches? Miranda Loh and Richard D. Morgenstern Choosing Environmental Policy: Comparing Instruments and Outcomes in the United States and Europe | Winston Harrington, Richard D. Morgenstern, and Thomas Sterner, eds. | RFF Press | 2004 | Chapter 11
Lessons from the Case Studies Winston Harrington, Richard D. Morgenstern, Thomas Sterner, and J. Clarence (Terry) Davies Choosing Environmental Policy: Comparing Instruments and Outcomes in the United States and Europe | Winston Harrington, Richard D. Morgenster, and Thomas Sterner, eds. | RFF Press | 2004 | Chapter 12
Reducing Cost Uncertainty and Encouraging Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol Raymond J. Kopp, Richard Morgenstern, William Pizer, and Frédéric Ghersi Global Warming in Asian-Pacific | R. Mendelsohn and D. Shaw eds. | Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing, Ltd. | 2002
Reducing Carbon Emissions and Limiting Costs Richard D. Morgenstern U.S. Policy on Climate Change: What Next? | John A. Riggs, ed. | Aspen, CO: The Aspen Institute | 2002
Air Pollution Control Policy Options for Metro Manila
C. Fischer, A. Krupnick, R. Morgenstern, K. Rolfe, B. Rufo, and J. Logarta Asian Development Bank (ADB) | 2002 Manila, Philippines, ADB Draft Report.
The Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act Richard D. Morgenstern Air Pollution in the 21st Century: Priority Issues and Policy | T. Schneider, ed. | Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Science Publishers | 1998
An Historical Perspective on the Role of Economic Analysis in Regulatory Decisionmaking Richard D. Morgenstern Better Environmental Decisions: Strategies for Governments, Businesses and Communities | Ken Sexton, ed. | Washington, D.C.: Island Press | 1998
Environmental Regulation: U.S. Competitiveness, Benefits and Costs Richard D. Morgenstern The Convergence of U.S. National Security and the Global Environment | Dick Clark, ed. | Aspen, CO: The Aspen Institute | 1997 | Vol. 12, No.2
Myths about Economics and the Environment Richard D. Morgenstern Environment Strategy America | William K. Reilly, ed. | London, U.K.: Campden Publishing | 1996
Environmental Reform: Better Science and Economics Richard D. Morgenstern Environmental Risks and Rewards for Business | Herbert Enmarch-Williams, ed. | London, U.K.: John Wiley and Sons | 1996
National Environmental Goals: Implementing the Laws, Visions of the Future, and Research Priorities Richard D. Morgenstern National Forum on Science and Technology Goals | Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences | 1996
Short Articles, Issue Briefs, and Other Publications
Baseline Issues in the Estimation of the Ancillary Benefits of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies Richard D. Morgenstern Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Workshop | OECD/IPCC | Ancillary Benefits and Costs of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation | Devra L. Davis, Alan J. Krupnick, and Gene McGlynn, eds. | Paris, France: OECD | 2000 | pp. 95-122
Complementarity May Lower Compliance Cost Richard D. Morgenstern Environmental Forum | July/August 1999
Are We Overstating the Real Economic Costs of Environmental Protection? Richard D. Morgenstern, William A. Pizer, and Jhih-Shyang Shih RFF Discussion Paper 97-36-REV | May 1997; Revised June 1997 | Abstract An electronic version of this report is not available.
The Near-Term Impacts of Carbon Mitigation Policies on Manufacturing Industries
Richard D. Morgenstern, Mun Ho, Jhih-Shyang Shih, and Xuehua Zhang Second World Congress of Environmental Economists | Association of Environmental and Resource Economists/European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists | Monterey, CA | June 23, 2002
The Diffusion of New Technologies: A Microeconomic Analysis of Firm Decision Making at the Plant Level Raymond J. Kopp, Winston Harrington, Richard D. Morgenstern, William A. Pizer, and Jhih-Shyang Shih National Bureau of Economic Research Summer Institute | Cambridge, MA | August 3, 1998 NBER Summer Institute Workshop on Public Policy and the Environment, August 1998.
Labor and Environmental Regulations Richard D. Morgenstern, William A. Pizer, and Jhih-Shyang Shih U.S. Bureau of Census, Center for Economic Studies | Washington, D.C. | February 5, 1998
Are We Overstating the Economic Costs of Environmental Protection? Richard D. Morgenstern, William A. Pizer, and Jhih-Shyang Shih U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Washington, D.C. | May 20, 1997
Awards
Recipient, "Best Article" Award, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (with Winston Harrington and Peter Nelson), 2000.
NSF/NDEA Fellowships, University of Michigan.
Comfort Starr Prize, Oberlin College.
Professional Activities
Committee Memberships: Member, National Academy of Engineering Committee on "Industrial Environmental Performance Metrics," 1997 - 1999.
