Publications

The Effect of Vehicle Restrictions on Female Labor Supply

To control problems of congestion and air pollution, many cities in developing countries have started to restrict vehicle ownership. Beijing’s license plate lottery has unintentionally reduced the employment rate of women who do not win.

Comparing Policies to Reduce Methane Emissions in the Natural Gas Sector

We compare several polices aimed at reducing methane emissions from the natural gas sector, which threaten to erode the advantages that gas holds over coal in terms of climate change.

Productive Efficiency and Its Determinants in a Changing Climate: A Monotonic Translog Stochastic Frontier Analysis

Adaptation to Climate Change and Variability and Its Implications for Household Nutrition in Kenya

Is the US the New Swing Producer? The Price-Responsiveness of Tight Oil

New research suggests a much larger role for the US incremental supply of oil to the global market than before the revolution in unconventional drilling—but the response still takes more time than is typically considered for a “swing” producer.

WHIMBY (What’s Happening in My Backyard?): A Community Risk-Benefit Matrix of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

The Community Risk-Benefit Matrix illustrates and summarizes the literature on the community impacts of unconventional oil and gas development, specifically regarding the prevalence, consistency, and quality of findings across studies and regions.

Induced Seismicity Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

This report provides an overview of the existing state of research on induced seismicity related to both unconventional and conventional oil and gas development in the United States.

Local Government Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

This report reviews the academic literature analyzing the effect of unconventional oil and gas development on local public finance outcomes including a review on the truck traffic literature, a specific subset of these local government outcomes.

Housing Market Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

We review the housing market impacts of unconventional oil and gas development, focusing on studies that assess changes in home prices related to proximity to development, lease clauses, rental rates, farm values, and tax base changes.

Health Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

This report reviews the academic literature analyzing the effect of unconventional oil and gas development on health outcomes, focusing on epidemiological studies.

Public Education Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

This report reviews the economic literature examining the effect of unconventional oil and gas development on public education via three main channels—student population, school finances, and the labor market.

Economic Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

We review the literature that analyzes the local economic impacts of an increase in unconventional oil and gas development, including impacts on wages and royalty income, employment, and the effects on long-term growth and economic development.

The Role of State Policies under Federal Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards

Federal and state policies that regulate vehicle fuel economy and GHG emissions can overlap and interfere with one another. But carefully constructed state policies can complement federal policies and reduce GHG emissions, air pollution, and congestion.

OPEC and World Oil Security

How Much Do Consumers Value Fuel Economy and Performance? Evidence from Technology Adoption

Current US passenger vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards will roughly double fuel economy and cut emissions. Recently tightened standards have reduced fuel costs, but have had roughly zero net effect on consumer well-being.

What Stands in the Way Becomes the Way: Sequencing in Climate Policy to Ratchet Up Stringency Over Time

This report develops a conceptual model of policy sequencing rooted in climate economics and political science as a pathway to achieving the aspirations of the Paris climate agreement. The ideas are illustrated with examples from Germany and California.

Electric Power Markets and State Policy: Changing Dynamics amid Federal Policy Uncertainty

Major shifts in federal energy policy under the Trump administration alongside technological and policy changes underway across electricity markets and states raise important questions about the future of US energy policy, at federal and state levels.

Evaluating the Learning-by-Doing Theory of Long-Run Oil, Gas, and Coal Economics

Energy production techniques have undergone extensive technological change. To understand future dynamics, long-term studies adapt a learning-by-doing model from manufacturing to understand productivity gains. We examine the suitability of this approach.

Defining the Roles of the Public and Private Sector in Risk Communication, Risk Reduction, and Risk Transfer

This paper discusses the challenges of insuring against flood, earthquake, and terrorism losses, and suggests ways to improve public–private partnerships for disaster financing in three interrelated areas: risk communication, reduction, and transfer.

Charging Drivers by the Pound: The Effects of the UK Vehicle Tax System

Using data on UK vehicle registrations, taxes, and characteristics of new cars, we estimate the effect of the carbon-based Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) system on new vehicle registrations and carbon emissions.

Federal Tax Credits and Residential Investment in Renewable Energy: A Qualitative Summary

The impact of residential investment tax credits (2006–2013) for renewable energy varied by type of technology, leading to larger photovoltaic systems and more solar thermal installations, but geothermal systems grew more expensive.

The Pricing of Flood Insurance

New Markets for Credit Trading under US Automobile Greenhouse Gas and Fuel Economy Standards

Crediting provisions are key for reducing the costs of meeting regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel use from the light-duty vehicle fleet in the United States. We assess how well the credit markets are working and discuss options to improve efficiency.

Implementing a Carbon Tax

This report provides new thinking on the design and implementation of a carbon tax as well as a discussion of various options for border adjustments, regulatory reform, and federal–state program interactions.

Hedging an Uncertain Future: Internal Carbon Prices in the Electric Power Sector

This report examines how internal carbon prices are used by companies and electricity regulators to manage regulatory risk, and identifies ways policymakers can offer guidance for companies to manage such risk in uncertain political climates.