Publications by Author: Robert Stavins

2021
Stavins, Robert. “The Biden Administration and International Climate Change Policy and Action.” Lawfare (2021). Publisher's Version
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Stavins, Robert. “Review of Somm 3.” Journal of Wine Economics 15, no. 4 (2021): 423–426. stavins_review_of_somm_3.pdf
Stavins, Robert. “What to Expect on Energy and Environmental Policy from the New U.S. Administration.” Warsaw Enterprise Institute (2021). stavins_warsaw_enterprise_institute_january_2021.pdf
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2020
Stavins, Robert. “The Future of U.S. Carbon-Pricing Policy.” Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy 1 (2020): 8–64. stavins_eepe_2020_journal_article.pdf
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2019
Schmalensee, Richard, and Robert Stavins. “Learning from Thirty Years Cap & Trade.” Resources, no. 201 (2019). Publisher's Version
Stavins, Robert. Economics of the Environment: Selected Readings, Seventh Edition. Seventh. Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, Mass: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. 2019.
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2018
Chan, Gabriel, Robert Stavins, and Zou Ji. “International Climate Change Policy.” Annual Review of Resource Economics 10 (2018): 335–360.Abstract
International cooperation to address the threat of climate change has become more institutionally diverse over the past decade, reflecting multiple scales of governance and the growing inclusion of climate change issues in other policy arenas. Cooperation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has continued to evolve from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the 2015 Paris Agreement, while other governmental and private sector international fora for cooperation have arisen. As the level of activity in international cooperation on climate change mitigation has increased, so too has the related scholarly literature. In this review, we synthesize the literature on international climate change cooperation and identify key policy implications, as well as those findings most relevant for the research community. Our scope includes critical evaluation of the organization and implementation of agreements and instruments, retrospective analysis of cooperative efforts, and explanations of successes and failures.
chan_stavins_zou_ji_annual_review_article_2018_002.pdf
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Schatzki, Todd, and Robert Stavins. “GHG Cap-and-Trade: Implications for Effective and Efficient Climate Policy in Oregon.” Harvard Environmental Economics Program, 2018. dp_92_schatzki-stavins.pdf
Richard, Schmalensee, and Robert Stavins. “Policy Evolution Under the Clean Air Act.” Harvard Environmental Economics Program, 2018.Abstract
The U.S. Clean Air Act, passed in 1970 with strong bipartisan support, was the first environmental law to give the Federal government a serious regulatory role, established the architecture of the U.S. air pollution control system, and became a model for subsequent environmental laws in the United States and globally. We outline the Act’s key provisions, as well as the main changes Congress has made to it over time. We assess the evolution of air pollution control policy under the Clean Air Act, with particular attention to the types of policy instruments used. We provide a generic assessment of the major types of policy instruments, and we trace and assess the historical evolution of EPA’s policy instrument use, with particular focus on the increased use of market-based policy instruments, beginning in the 1970s and culminating in the 1990s. Over the past fifty years, air pollution regulation has gradually become much more complex, and over the past twenty years, policy debates have become increasingly partisan and polarized, to the point that it has become impossible to amend the Act or pass other legislation to address the new threat of climate change.
dp_79_schmalensee-stavins_clean_air_act.pdf
Stavins, Robert. “Should California Develop the State's Large Petroleum Resources?The Environmental Forum 35, no. 4 (2018): 15. should_california_develop_the_states_large_petroleum_resources.pdf
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Stavins, Robert. “Film Review: Rudi Goldman: Burgundy: People with a Passion for Wine.” Journal of Wine Economics 13(2018):105-108. [A-93]” (2018). burgundy_people_with_a_passion_for_wine_review_by_stavins_for_jwe.pdf
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Stavins, Robert. “World’s Largest Carbon Market is Scheduled for 2020 Launch in China.” The Environmental Forum Volume 35, no. 2 (2018): 15. 021218_column_83-worlds_largest_carbon_market_2020_china.pdf
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2016
Chan, Gabriel, Carlo Carraro, Ottmar Edenhofer, Charles Kolstad, and Robert Stavins. “Reforming the IPCC’s Assessment of Climate Change Economics.” Climate Change Economics 7 (2016). Publisher's VersionAbstract

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is broadly viewed as the world’s most legitimate scientific assessment body that periodically assesses the economics of climate change (among many other topics) for policy audiences. However, growing procedural inefficiencies and limitations to substantive coverage have made the IPCC an increasingly unattractive forum for the most qualified climate economists. Drawing on our observations and personal experience working on the most recent IPCC report, published last year, we propose four reforms to the IPCC’s process that we believe will lower the cost for volunteering as an IPCC author: improving interactions between governments and academics, making IPCC operations more efficient, clarifying and strengthening conflict of interest rules, and expanding outreach. We also propose three reforms to the IPCC’s substantive coverage to clarify the IPCC’s role and to make participation as an author more intellectually rewarding: complementing the IPCC with other initiatives, improving the integration of economics with other disciplines, and providing complete data for policymakers to make decisions. Despite the distinct characteristics of the IPCC that create challenges for authors unlike those in any other review body, we continue to believe in the importance of the IPCC for providing the most visible line of public communication between the scholarly community and policymakers.

chan_et_al_reforming_the_ipcc.pdf

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2015
Stavins, Robert, Ji Zou, Thomas Brewer, Mariana Conte Grand, Michel den Elzen, Michael Finus, Joyeeta Gupta, et al.International cooperation: Agreements & instruments.” In Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, edited by Ottmar Edenhofer, Ramon Pichs-Madruga, Youba Sokona, Ellie Farahani, Susanne Kadner, Kristin Seyboth, Anna Adler, et al.. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press, 2015. ipcc_wg3_ar5_final-draft_postplenary_chapter13.pdf

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2014
Fowlie, Meredith, Lawrence Goulder, Matthew Kotchen, Severin Borenstein, James Bushnell, Lucas Davis, Michael Greenstone, et al.An Economic Perspective on the EPA's Clean Power Plan.” Science 346 (2014): 815–816. Publisher's VersionAbstract

In June, the Obama Administration unveiled its proposal for a Clean Power Plan, which it estimates would reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing U.S. power plants 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 (see the chart). Power plant emissions have declined substantially since 2005, so the plan is seeking reductions of about 18% from current levels. Electricity generation accounts for about 40% of U.S. CO2 emissions.

science-2014-fowlie.pdf

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2012
Chan, Gabriel, Robert Stavins, Robert Stowe, and Richard Sweeney. “The SO2 Allowance-Trading System and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990: Reflections on 20 Years of Policy Innovation.” National Tax Journal 65 (2012): 419–52. Publisher's VersionAbstract

The introduction of the U.S. SO2 allowance-trading program to address the threat of acid rain as part of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 is a landmark event in the history of environmental regulation. The program was a great success by almost all measures. This paper, which draws upon a research workshop and a policy roundtable held at Harvard in May 2011, investigates critically the design, enactment, implementation, performance, and implications of this path-breaking application of economic thinking to environmental regulation. Ironically, cap-and-trade seems especially well suited to addressing the problem of climate change, in that emitted greenhouse gases are evenly distributed throughout the world’s atmosphere. Recent hostility toward cap-and-trade in debates about U.S. climate legislation may reflect the broader political environment of the climate debate more than the substantive merits of market-based regulation.

chan_et_al_so2_article_national_tax_journal_2012.pdf

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2010
Schmalensee, Richard, and Robert Stavins. “The Power of Cap-and- Trade.” Boston.com (2010). Publisher's Version
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2007
Stavins, Robert, Judson Jaffe, and Todd Schatzki. “Too good to be true? An examination of three economic assessments of California climate change policy.” National Bureau of Economic Research, 2007. Publisher's Version too_good_to_be_true.pdf

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1998
Fullerton, Don, and Robert Stavins. “How Economists See the Environment.” Nature 395 (1998): 433–434. Publisher's VersionAbstract

Economists and ecologists misunderstand each other about the environment. Improving interdisciplinary communication should enable natural scientists to take economic analysis and prescriptions more seriously.

how_economists_see_the_environment.pdf

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