Energy is an essential component of economic growth. At the same time, rising worldwide demand for inexpensive, reliable energy runs up against evidence of the social costs of energy use. The broad consensus of scientific research shows that continued dependence on carbon-based fuels and their associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions create risks of substantial change to the earth’s climate, along with harm to the welfare of future generations. While this evidence has spurred domestic and international responses to regulate GHG emissions, there are daunting challenges to the successful design and implementation of a useful energy-climate policy.
Drawing from his research in this area, Robert Topel, the Isidore Brown and Gladys J. Brown Distinguished Service Professor at the Booth School of Business, delivered the spring Becker Brown Bag lecture on “Some Dismal Economics of Climate Policy.”

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Research Briefs·Nov 11, 2024

Carbon Burden

Lubos Pastor, Robert F. Stambaugh, and Lucian A. Taylor
The US corporate sector’s “carbon burden” (the present value of social costs of its future carbon emissions) is 131% of total corporate equity value; 77% of individual firms have carbon burdens exceeding their market capitalizations.
Topics: Energy & Environment
Podcast Oct 29, 2024

Economics Meets Ecology: The Huge Costs of Ecosystem Declines

Tess Vigeland and Eyal Frank
Bats are considered a natural pesticide. When they began to die out due to an invasive fungus, farmers turned to chemicals to control pests. The result, as Eyal Frank of the Harris School of Public Policy describes on this episode...
Topics: Energy & Environment
Research Briefs·Sep 27, 2024

Toward an Understanding of the Economics of Prosumers: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment

John List, Ioannis C. Pragidis, and Michael K. Price
Nudging energy prosumers to conserve via a home energy report reduces their energy consumption, with significant variation across seasons and times of day. This suggests that prosumers both shift their energy use away from peak hours and conserve overall.
Topics: Energy & Environment