Past Fellows Current Fellows

 

Repsol YPF - Harvard Kennedy School Fellows Program

at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government

2003-2006

With generous support from the Fundación Repsol YPF, fourteen scholars participated in the Repsol YPF - Harvard Kennedy School Fellows program on energy policy over the academic years 2003-2006.  These awards were made as a result of an international competition, with the fellows spending a year in residence at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. The research of the fellows covered a range of issues on energy policy and related topics in environment and natural resources.  The collected volume of research papers for the first year of the program can be found on the program web page.  Similar collected paper volumes are in preparation or planned covering the research through 2006.  The fellows work provides a diverse and rich foundation that will inform the development of energy policy research at Harvard and in the larger community of ideas.  We are grateful for the support of Fundación Repsol YPF and proud of the opportunity to work with this excellent group of scholars.

The Repsol YPF - Harvard Kennedy School Fellows program will not continue beyond the current academic year.  A new initiative that builds on this experience can be found in the Environmental Fellows Program at Harvard University organized through the Harvard University Center on the Environment (HUCE).

The application deadline for the new HUCE fellowship program is January 15, 2006.

Current Energy Policy Fellows

RESEARCH TOPIC AREAS

In the aftermath of the oil shocks in the 1970s, there was an explosion of activity in energy markets and a burst of activity in energy policy research, thereby launching a new generation of energy experts throughout the world. In the new century, another accelerated pace of change presents a renewed demand to develop both ideas and people to expand and clarify the complex topics that permeate energy policy. The transformed setting of international security and expanded challenges of international terrorism profoundly affect the operation and importance of energy markets. Dramatic changes in energy industries, advances in technology, and restructured energy markets present new choices and challenges. 

There is a sense that an era when easy solutions of excess supply capacity, robust infrastructure, and low cost environmental improvements may be coming to an end. Stresses as diverse as global climate change, energy market liberalization, and greater integration of energy companies produce extended policy debates. The Repsol YPF-Harvard Kennedy School Fellows Program responded to these opportunities and challenges by making an investment in intellectual capital through the research of another generation of energy policy scholars.

Fellows examine current and future problems that cover a range of issues of energy policy and related topics in environment and natural resources. The illustrative topic areas are suggestive of the focus of the program.

Oil, Volatility and Markets. Oil price levels present matters of policy interest in all countries. Price volatility presents risks for investments that affect both price expectations and volatility. How do these risks affect markets? What policies can be developed to mitigate the risks?

Energy Environmental Regulation. Environmental policy affects and interacts with development of the energy sector. Issues as near term as acid rain and as long term as global climate change both influence and respond to the development of the energy system. How do environmental policy and regulation affect energy markets? What can energy systems do to support environmental objectives? What is the evidence to support policy conclusions? How will the signers implement the Kyoto agreement?

Energy Security Policy. Security of oil supply for consumers and of oil demand for producers are issues of international geopolitical importance, requiring a clear understanding of forces that transcend markets and could affect the peace and stability of nations. How can oil policy affect security? How do geopolitical concerns affect oil markets? How will the rise of LNG trade affect energy markets and security policies?

Gas Liberalization and Security. In the case of Europe, gas liberalization raises issues of security of supply of this critical resource provided through a relatively inflexible physical and institutional network. Can markets allow buyers to enjoy security of gas supply? Are the structures of the European gas market and its institutions well matched?

Energy and Geopolitics. Energy markets interact with global political challenges. Energy policy is constrained by and constrains political developments. What are the linkages and what can be done to improve policy?

Energy and Development in Latin America. A rapidly changing political and economic environment in Latin America poses difficulties for energy investment and government policies to support the broad challenges of economic development. How does the long-term investment needed in energy markets interact with development policy and development problems?

Energy Economic Regulation. Liberalization and restructuring of gas and electricity markets in Spain and across the European Union offer a new context for design and evaluation of energy regulation. How will energy markets conform to competition policies? What regulatory institutions and policies will be required?

ADMINISTRATION AND ACTIVITIES

Supported by a three year gift from the Fundación Repsol YPF, program oversight and management includes an Advisory Board of primarily outside members and a Steering Committee of primarily Kennedy School faculty. 

Advisory Board: Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani (Mondoil Corporation), José Luis Díaz Fernández (Fundación Repsol YPF), William Hogan (M-RCBG), Ramón Pérez-Simarro (Instituto Superior de la Energía), Paul Portney (Resources for the Future), and John Ruggie (M-RCBG). Meets annually to review program performance and discuss priorities for future research and recruitment.

Steering Committee: William Hogan, William Clark, Jose Gomez-Ibanez, John Holdren, Dale Jorgenson, Ramón Pérez-Simarro and Robert Stavins. Participates in the research program and exercises primary responsibility for quality control through participant selection and research oversight.

The research output contributes to the Repsol YPF-Harvard Kennedy School Fellows paper and book series. As appropriate, Fellows will be invited to present research results as part of the Repsol YPF-Harvard Seminar on Energy Policy. 

In addition, Fellows will have an opportunity to visit the Fundación Repsol YPF's Instituto Superior de la Energía (ISE), the Post-Graduate School in Madrid for the energy and petrochemical industries, as part of their research program or to offer short courses to complement the Instituto’s curriculum.