Biography
Walls' current research focuses on solid waste and recycling, as well as transportation, urban land use, and air quality issues. She has published articles that assess the efficiency and effectiveness of solid waste policies. This research also has looked at the effects that policies have on "design for environment," the explicit incorporation of environmental issues in product design and manufacturing decisions. In the transportation area, Walls has modeled household vehicle ownership and use, and also has addressed the cost-effectiveness of various alternative fuels. She has written several articles on oil and gas supply. Currently, Walls is analyzing transferable development rights programs for managing land use in urban fringe areas. Her work has been published in the Journal of Public Economics, National Tax Journal, and Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, among others. She is also the author of nine book chapters.
Walls was a Fellow in RFF's Energy and Natural Resources Division from 1987 to 1996. She then spent nearly five years in New Zealand as an associate professor of economics at Victoria University of Wellington. Walls rejoined RFF in November 2000.
Ph.D. in economics, University of California at Santa Barbara, 1988. B.S. in agricultural economics, University of Kentucky, 1981.
Professional Experience
Resident Scholar, Resources for the Future, 2000 - present.
Associate Professor, Victoria University, School of Economics and Finance, Wellington, New Zealand, March 1998 - October 2000. Visiting Lecturer, February 1996 - March 1998.
Fellow, Resources for the Future, Energy and Natural Resources Division, 1987 - 1996.
Journal Articles
What Drives Telecommuting? The Relative Impacts of Worker Demographics, Employer Characteristics, and Job Types Margaret Walls, Elena Safirova and Yi Jiang Transportation Research Record | Related Discussion Paper 06-41
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
Using Markets for Land Preservation: Results of a TDR Program Virginia McConnell, Elizabeth Kopits, Margaret Walls Journal of Environmental Planning and Management | forthcoming | Related Discussion Paper 03-08
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
Waste, Recycling, and 'Design for Environment:' Roles for Markets and Policy Instruments Paul Calcott, Margaret Walls Resource and Energy Economics | November 2005 | Vol. 27, no. 4 | pp. 287-305 | Related Discussion Paper 00-30-REV
Farmland Preservation and Residential Density: Can Development Rights Markets Affect Land Uses? Virginia McConnell, Elizabeth Kopits, and Margaret Walls Agricultural and Resource Economics Review | October 2005 | Vol. 34, no. 2 | pp. 131-144
Private Markets, Contracts, and Government Provision: What Explains the Organization of Local Waste and Recycling Markets? Margaret Walls, Molly Macauley, Soren Anderson Urban Affairs Review | May 2005 | Vol. 40, no. 5 | pp. 590-613 | Related Discussion Paper 02-35-REV
Automobile Externalities and Policies Ian Parry, Margaret Walls and Winston Harrington Journal of Economic Literature
How Local Governments Structure Contracts with Private Firms: Economic Theory and Evidence on Solid Waste and Recycling Contracts Margaret Walls Public Works Management and Policy | January 2005 | Vol. 9, no. 3 | pp. 206-222 | Related Discussion Paper 03-62
Upstream Pollution, Downstream Waste Disposal and the Design of Comprehensive Environmental Policies Margaret Walls and Karen Palmer Journal of Environmental Economics and Management | February 2001 | Vol. 41 | pp. 94-108 | Related Discussion Paper 97-51-REV
Can Downstream Waste Disposal Policies Encourage Upstream "Design for Environment"? Paul Calcott and Margaret Walls American Economic Review | May 2000 | Vol. 90, No. 2 | pp. 233-237
Measuring the Incidence of an Environmental Tax Shift: The Case of Motor Vehicle Emissions Taxes Margaret Walls and Jean Hanson National Tax Journal | March 1999 | Vol. 52, No. 1 | pp. 53-66
Optimal Policies for Solid Waste Disposal: Taxes, Subsidies, and Standards Karen Palmer and Margaret Walls Journal of Public Economics | August 1997 | Vol. 65, No. 2 | pp. 193-205
The Costs of Reducing Municipal Solid Waste Karen Palmer, Hilary Sigman, and Margaret Walls Journal of Environmental Economics and Management | June 1997 | Vol. 33, No. 2 | pp. 128-150 | Related Discussion Paper 96-35
Valuing the Characteristics of Natural Gas Vehicles: An Implicit Markets Approach Margaret Walls Review of Economics and Statistics | May 1996 | Vol. 78, No. 2 | pp. 266-276
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."
Using a "Hybrid" Approach to Model Oil and Gas Supply: A Case Study of the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Margaret Walls Land Economics | February 1994 | Vol. 70, No. 1 | pp. 1-19
Global Warming and Urban Smog: The Cost-Effectiveness of CAFE Standards and Alternative Fuels Margaret Walls, Alan Krupnick, and Carol Collins The Energy Journal | October 1993 | Vol. 14, No. 4 | pp. 75-97
Federalism and Offshore Oil Leasing Margaret Walls Natural Resources Journal | Summer 1993 | Vol. 33 | pp. 777-795
Internalizing Energy Market Externalities in a Federalist System of Government Margaret Walls Energy Policy | April 1993 | pp. 385-390
Modeling and Forecasting the Supply of Oil and Gas: A Survey of Existing Approaches Margaret Walls Resources and Energy | September 1992 | Vol. 14 | pp. 287-309
The Cost-Effectiveness of Methanol for Reducing Motor Vehicle Emissions and Urban Ozone Alan Krupnick and Margaret Walls Journal of Policy Analysis and Management | July 1992 | Vol. 11, No. 3 | pp. 373-376
Dynamic Firm Behavior and Regional Deadweight Losses From a U.S. Oil Import Fee Margaret Walls Southern Economic Journal | January 1991 | Vol. 57, No. 3 | pp. 772-788
Welfare Cost of an Oil Import Fee Margaret Walls Contemporary Policy Issues | April 1990 | Vol. 8 | pp. 176-189
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
State Innovation for Environmental Improvements: Experimental Federalism Winston Harrington, Karen Palmer, and Margaret Walls The RFF Reader in Environmental and Resource Policy, 2nd Edition | Wallace E. Oates, ed. | RFF Press | December 2005 | Chapter 22, pp. 123-128
The Incidence of Pollution Control Policies Ian W.H. Parry, Hilary Sigman, Margaret Walls and Roberton C. Williams. The International Yearbook of Environmental and Resource Economics 2006/2007 | Tom Tietenberg and Henk Folmer | Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar | 2006 Related Discussion Paper: 05-24
State Innovation for Environmental Improvements: Experimental Federalism Winston Harrington, Karen L. Palmer, and Margaret Walls New Approaches on Energy and the Environment: Policy Advice for the President | Richard D. Morgenstern and Paul R. Portney, eds. | RFF Press | 2004 | Chapter 10
Solid Waste Reduction and Resource Conservation: Assessing Goals of Government Policy Molly Macauley and Margaret Walls Public Policies for Environmental Protection, 2nd ed. | Paul Portney and Robert Stavins, eds. | RFF Press | 2000
A Cost-Benefit Study of the Privatisation of New Zealand Railways
Lewis Evans, David Boles de Boer, and Margaret Walls New Zealand Treasury | August 1999 (New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation report)
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
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
Applications of Energy Security Externalities to Transportation Policy Margaret Walls The Economics of Energy Security | Douglas R. Bohi and Michael A. Toman | Boston, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers | 1996 | Chapter 7
Nonrenewable Resource Supply: Theory and Practice Michael A. Toman and Margaret Walls The Handbook of Environmental Economics | Daniel Bromley, ed. | Oxford, U.K.: Basil Blackwell | 1995 | Chapter 9
Motor Vehicles and Pollution in Central and Eastern Europe Margaret Walls Pollution Abatement Strategies in Central and Eastern Europe | Michael Toman | RFF Press | 1994
U.S. Energy and Environmental Policies: Problems of Federalism and Conflicting Goals Margaret Walls A Comprehensive Energy Policy: The Impossible Dream? | Hans Landsberg, ed. | RFF Press | 1993
The U.S. Oil Industry Response Margaret Walls and Andrew S. Jones The Oil Market in the 1980s: A Decade of Decline | Siamack Shojai and Bernard Katz, eds. | New York, NY: Praeger Publishers | 1992
Costs of Methanol Systems: Commentary Margaret Walls Methanol as an Alternative Fuel Choice: An Assessment | Wilfrid L. Kohl, ed. | Washington, D.C.: Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute | 1990
Short Articles, Issue Briefs, and Other Publications
Motor Vehicles, U.S. Attitudes, and Inaction on Climate Change Margaret Walls Victoria Economic Commentaries | September 1996 | pp. 30-40
Review of War on Waste: Can America Win Its Battle With Garbage? Margaret Walls and Robert P. Anex Environmental History Review | Winter 1993
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Alternative Fuels Alan J. Krupnick, Margaret Walls, Sari Radin, Carol Collins, and Joel Darmstadter Report to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Policy Analysis | June 1991
Examining the Relationships Between Urban Density, Transit Availability, and Vehicle Travel: Results from a Nested Logit Model of Vehicle Choice Alan J. Krupnick, Winston Harrington, and Margaret Walls 1998
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.
Solid Waste Reduction and Resource Conservation: Assessing the Goals of Government Policy Molly K. Macauley and Margaret A. Walls RFF Discussion Paper 95-32 | July 1995 | Abstract An electronic version of this report is not available.
The Cost of Reducing Municipal Solid Waste: Comparing Deposit-Refunds, Advance Disposal Fees, Recycling Subsidies, and Recycling Rate Standards Karen L. Palmer, Hilary Sigman, Margaret A. Walls, Ken Harrison, and Steve Puller RFF Discussion Paper 95-33 | July 1995 | Abstract An electronic version of this report is not available.
Selected Presentations
The Trade-Off Between Private Lots and Public Open Space in Subdivisions at the Urban-Rural Fringe Virginia McConnell American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meetings | Portland, OR | July 28, 2007 American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association Mid-Year Meetings | AREUEA | Washington, DC | May 29, 2007
Jointly authored paper with Elizabeth Kopits of EPA
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
TDRs in Theory and Practice Margaret Walls Environment Virginia conference | VMI, Lexington, VA | April 12, 2007
Extended Producer Responsibility and Design for Environment: Economic Theory and Selected Case Studies Margaret Walls Environment Canada: Workshop on Extended Producer Responsibility | Environment Canada | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | March 8, 2006
Transferable Development Rights Margaret Walls RFF First Wednesday Seminar on Zoning, Regulation, and Choice in Metropolitan Land use | Resources for the Future | RFF | March 1, 2006
Effects of Urban Density on Vehicle Use and Ownership Alan J. Krupnick, Winston Harrington and Margaret Walls American Economic Association (AEA), 2002 Annual Meetings | AEA | Atlanta, GA | April 4, 2002
The Economics of Solid Waste Management: Market Organization, Government Policies, and the Product Stewardship Movement Margaret Walls International Forum on the Environment | Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan | Tokyo, Japan | February 18, 2002
Comments on the Use of Cost-Benefit Analysis and EPR Margaret Walls Seminar on Extended Producer Responsibility: Programme Implementation and Assessment | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development | Paris, France | December 13, 2001
How Does Population Density and Transit Availability Affect Vehicle Travel? Results from U.S. Household Survey Data Margaret Walls Urban Transport Forum | Institute for International Research | Wellington, New Zealand | March 1, 1998
The Cost-effectiveness of Methanol Vehicles Alan J. Krupnick and Margaret Walls American Economic Association (AEA)/Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE) Annual Meetings | AEA/AERE | Washington, D.C. | December 26, 1990
Awards
Distinguished economist, Kentucky Economic Association, awarded October 2003
Professional Activities
National Research Council, Committee on National Tire Efficiency, 2005. Member, European Environment Agency High-level Network of Leading Economists, 2004-2005. Stakeholder, National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative, 2001-2003 (see www.nepsi.org).
Member: American Economic Association Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
Referee: Journal of Public Economics Journal of Environmental Economics and Management American Economic Review National Tax Journal Review of Economics and Statistics Land Economics The Energy Journal Natural Resources Journal Energy Policy Resource and Energy Economics Journal of Policy Analysis and Management Southern Economic Journal Contemporary Economic Policy
Public Service
Stakeholder: National Electronics Product Stewardship Initiative, 2001 - 2002.
White House Committee on Policy Options for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Personal Motor Vehicles, 1994 - 1995.
