Evaluating the Energy Efficiency Gap: Research and Practice
May 20, 2013

This joint initiative between Duke and Harvard University will advance understanding of the "energy efficiency gap" and the diverse factors that affect the adoption of energy-efficient equipment and practices. It focuses on differences between predicted and observed adoption of these technologies. The initiative's findings will inform future research and policy. Learn more here.

HEEP Student Paper Prizes 2012-2013
May 15, 2013

The Harvard Environmental Economics Program has awarded three prizes to Harvard University students for the best research papers addressing a topic in environmental, energy, or resource economics—one prize each for a senior thesis, master's student paper, and doctoral student paper. Each prize was accompanied by a monetary award.

Read the details here

Joseph Aldy was quoted in the May 5, 2013 edition of the National Journal, "What People Close to Obama Think About the Keystone XL Pipeline."

Robert Stavins was interviewed in the April 17, 2013 edition of Bloomberg, "Harvard Don Tells EU Kill Grants to Save Carbon: Energy Markets."

Stavins publishes paper collection
March 22, 2013

Professor Robert Stavins, director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, recently published the second volume of his collected papers with Edward Elgar Publishing: Economics of Climate Change and Environmental Policy: Selected Papers of Robert N. Stavins, 2000-2011. The 26 essays in the volume cover a wide range of topics, including: environmental policy analysis; economic analysis of environmental policy instruments; economics and technical change; natural resource economics – land and water; and domestic and international climate change policy. The first volume of Professor Stavins' papers was published in 2000 — also by Edward Elgar — covering the period 1988-1999.

Joseph Aldy was cited in the March 19, 2013 edition of The Atlantic, "America's Most Obvious Tax Reform Idea: Kill the Oil and Gas Subsidies."

HEEP Student Paper Prize 2012-2013
March 14, 2013

The Harvard Environmental Economics Program will award three prizes in May 2013 for the best research papers addressing topics in environmental, energy, and natural-resource economics:

The James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Prize for best senior paper or thesis: $1,000

Christopher P. Kaneb Prize for best masters student paper: $1,500

The Enel Endowment Prize for best doctoral student paper: $2,000

Read the details here

Robert Stavins was interviewed in the March 1, 2013 edition of PBS News Hour, "Is Obama's Climate Change Policy Doomed to Fail? Maybe Not."

Joseph Aldy was cited in the February 25, 2013 edition of The Washington Post, "Brookings wants to revamp the federal budget. Here are its 11 best ideas."

Professor Gilbert Metcalf named new Associate Scholar of HEEP
February 20, 2013

The Harvard Environmental Economics Program welcomes Professor Gilbert (Gib) Metcalf as an Associate Scholar of the Program. Gib is Professor of Economics at Tufts University and is a leading scholar in the field of energy and environmental economics. During 2011 and 2012, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and Energy at the U.S. Department of Treasury. While at the Treasury, among other duties, he was the first U.S. Board member for the Green Climate Fund, a multilateral climate-finance fund established in December 2011 at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations in Durban, South Africa. Gib is the second Associate Scholar of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. In this role, he joins Professor Michael Greenstone of MIT. Read more about Gib's background here and here.

Michael Toffel was quoted in the February 13, 2013 edition of Forbes, "How Governments Spur Private-Sector Demand for Green Buildings."

Robert Stavins was cited in the January 19, 2013 edition of The Economist, "The voice of public choice."

Robert Stavins was quoted in the January 17, 2013 edition of The Washington Post, "As State Department nears completion of Keystone XL review, both sides dig in."

Joseph Aldy was quoted in the January 9, 2013 edition of The Washington Post, "Solyndra stunk. The green stimulus didn't."

HEEP releases two new discussion papers
January 3, 2013

The Harvard Environmental Economics Program regularly releases discussion papers that cover a range of topics in environmental economics. Two new papers were posted on January 3, 2013, both by HEEP Faculty Fellow Michael Toffel and colleagues. Topics include the impact of governmental mandates on the private sector regarding the adoption of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard, and how some firms choose to selectively disclose their environmental performance. To view the papers in the collection, click here.

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