Yanjun (Penny) Liao
Fellow
Yanjun (Penny) Liao is an economist and fellow at Resources for the Future. Her research primarily focuses on issues of natural disaster risk management and climate adaptation. She has studied the impacts of disasters on local government budgets, housing markets, and demographic changes. Her ongoing work investigates how disaster insurance interacts with the housing and mortgage sector, as well as the economic and fiscal impacts of adaptation policies on local communities. Liao earned her PhD in economics from UC San Diego in 2019 and conducted her postdoctoral research during 2019–21 at the Wharton Risk Center at University of Pennsylvania.
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Resources Radio — Feb 25, 2025
Promoting Climate Adaptation by Discouraging Development, with Yanjun (Penny) Liao
Yanjun (Penny) Liao discusses a federal law that aims to limit development in certain US coastal areas, along with the effects of the law on housing, flood insurance claims, and federal spending after extreme weather events.
Media Highlight — Feb 24, 2025
CNN: “People Are Buying Up Burned Lots in LA. Should they Be Concerned about Future Fires?”
RFF Fellow Penny Liao comments on the relationship between insurance costs and the choice to build new homes in risky areas.
Resources Radio — Jan 28, 2025
The Los Angeles Fires, with Yanjun (Penny) Liao, David Wear, and Matthew Wibbenmeyer
Yanjun (Penny) Liao, David Wear, and Matthew Wibbenmeyer discuss the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, California, including the factors that exacerbated the fires, fallout from these fires, and options for mitigating fires in the future.
Press Release — Jan 3, 2025
White Communities Are More Likely to Enroll in a Western US Wildfire Mitigation Program
A new paper an increase in home protection measures following wildfire is entirely driven by non-Hispanic white households.
Working Paper — Dec 12, 2024
From Catastrophe to Caution: The Effect of Wildfires on Community Hazard Mitigation Investments
In this working paper, the authors examine the impact of wildfires on community-level hazard mitigation efforts, specifically focusing on participation in the Firewise USA program.
Journal Article — Aug 5, 2024
Removing Development Incentives in Risky Areas Promotes Climate Adaptation
The study explores the long-term economic impacts of the Coastal Barrier Resources System, a policy enacted in the 1980s that made certain high-risk areas ineligible for federal flood insurance policies, public infrastructure investments, and post-disaste
Working Paper — Jul 22, 2024
A Tale of Two Investments: Charging Stations and Purchase Subsidies for EV Adoption
This working paper studies the interaction between electric vehicle purchase subsidies and charging infrastructure development.
Report — Jul 18, 2024
Facing Wildfire Insurance Challenges: Five Lessons from the National Flood Insurance Program
What can the United States' long history of insuring flooding losses teach us about the insurability of wildfires?
Resources Radio — Feb 25, 2025
Promoting Climate Adaptation by Discouraging Development, with Yanjun (Penny) Liao
Yanjun (Penny) Liao discusses a federal law that aims to limit development in certain US coastal areas, along with the effects of the law on housing, flood insurance claims, and federal spending after extreme weather events.
Resources Radio — Jan 28, 2025
The Los Angeles Fires, with Yanjun (Penny) Liao, David Wear, and Matthew Wibbenmeyer
Yanjun (Penny) Liao, David Wear, and Matthew Wibbenmeyer discuss the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, California, including the factors that exacerbated the fires, fallout from these fires, and options for mitigating fires in the future.
Common Resources — Oct 7, 2024
Climate Change, Hurricane Helene, and the Unreliability of History as a Guide to Extreme Weather
Hurricane Helene struck communities that had been considered relatively safe from extreme weather. The storm exemplifies a pattern that has emerged as climate change has intensified: catastrophic weather events can happen anywhere.
Resources Magazine Articles — Oct 7, 2024
From 1959 Through Today: 65 Years of Resources Magazine
The past 65 years of Resources—the full archive of articles dating back to the start of the magazine in 1959—are now freely available online to anyone who’s looking for accurate, trustworthy information about environmental economics.
Media Highlight — Feb 24, 2025
CNN: “People Are Buying Up Burned Lots in LA. Should they Be Concerned about Future Fires?”
RFF Fellow Penny Liao comments on the relationship between insurance costs and the choice to build new homes in risky areas.
Press Release — Jan 3, 2025
White Communities Are More Likely to Enroll in a Western US Wildfire Mitigation Program
A new paper an increase in home protection measures following wildfire is entirely driven by non-Hispanic white households.
Media Highlight — Nov 2, 2024
City & State: “National Flood Insurance Program Likely to be Headache for Next President”
RFF Fellow Penny Liao reflects on the National Flood Insurance Program.
Media Highlight — Oct 16, 2024
Reuters Econ World Podcast: “Protection Gap”
RFF Fellow Penny Liao is interviewed for Reuters Econ World podcast, where she talks extensively about flood insurance and its implications for the US housing market.