vlog

Delivery worker wearing a medical mask and carrying packages.
Feature: The Impact of State Paid Sick Leave Laws on Service Workers

Daniel Schneider finds that state paid sick leave laws increased service workers’ access to paid sick leave and reduced the share of service workers who worked while sick.

A family with a father, mother, and two small children walking on a dirt path.
Feature: Connecting Absolute and Relative Intergenerational Mobility

Deirdre Bloome offers two frameworks for understanding the relationship between types of intergenerational mobility, or whether people are socioeconomically better off than their parents.

Two women in rural India dressed colorfully and carrying baskets on their heads.
Feature: Studying a Government Program to Support Women’s Self-Help Groups

Michael Walton explores the interactions between state and society in rural India within a major community-based development program, finding two major tensions.

A network of computer motherboards and other parts assembled to look like a miniature city.
Feature: The Data-Informed City

Jorrit de Jong presents a comprehensive framework for how cities can use data to address problems more effectively, efficiently, equitably, and with better accountability.

Harvard Kennedy School faculty disseminate their research in working publications and papers that contribute to public knowledge and fuel policy innovation. This list features recent faculty publications, including journal articles, books, edited volumes, research papers, and public testimony.

Faculty Publications

Energy, Climate, Growth

Sinha, Jayant, Robert Stavins, Jessica Seddon, and Arunabha Ghosh. "Energy, Climate, Growth." Navigating Challenges for Sustainable Growth. Ed. Suman Bery, Kapil Kapoor, and Jean-Louis Arcand. Singapore: Springer, 2025, 1-18.

Martin L. Weitzman (1942–2019)

Stavins, Robert N., and Gernot Wagner. "Martin L. Weitzman (1942–2019)." The Palgrave Companion to Harvard Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, 2024.

What will happen with US climate policy under the Biden Administration?

Stavins, Robert N. "What will happen with US climate policy under the Biden Administration?" Greening Europe's Post-COVID-19 Recovery. Ed. Simone Tagliapietra, Guntram B. Wolff, and Georg Zachmann. Bruegel, February 2022, 140-151.

Why cap-and-trade should (and does) have appeal to politicians

Hahn, Robert and Robert Stavins. "Why cap-and-trade should (and does) have appeal to politicians." Combatting Climate Change: a CEPR Collection. Ed. Beatrice Weder di Mauro. CEPR Press, 2021, 259-264.

Linkage of Regional, National, and Sub-National Policies in a Future International Climate Agreement

Stavins, Robert N. "Linkage of Regional, National, and Sub-National Policies in a Future International Climate Agreement." Towards a Workable and Effective Climate Regime. Ed. Scott Barrett, Carlo Carraro, and Jaime de Melo. Center for Economic Policy Research, 2015, 283-296.

From the Science to the Economics and Politics of Climate Change: An Introduction

Stavins, Robert N. "From the Science to the Economics and Politics of Climate Change: An Introduction." Our World and Us: How Our Environment and Our Societies Will Change. Ed. Katinka Barysch. Allianz Group, 2015, 20-36.

Summary for Policymakers

Ji, Zou, T. Brewer, M.C. Grant, M. Elzen, M. Finus, J. Gupta, N. Hohne, M.K. Lee, A. Michaelowa, M. Paterson, K. Ramakrishna, R. Stavins, G. Wen, J. Wiener, and H. Winkler. "Summary for Policymakers." Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, January 2015.

International Cooperation: Agreements and Instruments

Ji, Zou, T. Brewer, M.C. Grant, M. Elzen, M. Finus, J. Gupta, N. Hohne, M.K. LEE, A. Michaelowa, M. Paterson, K. Ramakrishna, R. Stavins, G. Wen, J. Wiener, and H. Winkler. "International Cooperation: Agreements and Instruments." Climate Change 2014: Mitigation. Cambridge University Press, January 2015.

Navigating a Two-Way Street Between Academia and the Policy World

Stavins, Robert N. "Navigating a Two-Way Street Between Academia and the Policy World." Introduction to Economics Of Climate Change And Environmental Policy Economics Of Climate Change And Environmental Policy: Selected Papers of Robert N. Stavins, 2000–2011. Ed. Robert N. Stavins. Edward Elgar, 2013.

Interactions Between State and Federal Climate Change Policies.

Goulder, Lawrence H., and Robert N. Stavins. "Interactions Between State and Federal Climate Change Policies." The Design and Implementation of US Climate Policy. Ed. Don Fullerton and Catherine Wolfram. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2012, 109-121.

Summary for Policymakers

Aldy, Joseph E., and Robert Stavins. Summary for Policymakers. Post-Kyoto International Climate Policy. Ed. Joseph E. Aldy and Robert Stavins. Cambridge University Press, 2009, xxviii, 182.

Environmental Economics

Stavins, Robert N. "Environmental Economics." The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd Edition. Ed. Lawrence Blume and Steven Durlauf. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

A Meaningful Second Commitment Period for the Kyoto Protocol

Stavins, Robert N. "A Meaningful Second Commitment Period for the Kyoto Protocol." The Economists' Voice: Top Economists Take on Today's Problems. Ed. Joseph E. Stiglitz, Aaron S. Edlin, and J. Bradford DeLong. Columbia University Press, 2008, 28-36.

An International Policy Architecture for the Post-Kyoto Era

Stavins, Robert N. "An International Policy Architecture for the Post-Kyoto Era." Global Warming: Looking Beyond Kyoto. Ed. Ernesto Zedillo. Brookings Institution Press, 2008, 145-153.

Architectures for an International Global Climate Change Agreement: Lessons for Policy Community.

Aldy, Joseph E., and Robert N. Stavins. "Architectures for an International Global Climate Change Agreement: Lessons for Policy Community." Architectures for Agreement: Addressing Global Climate Change in the Post-Kyoto World. Ed. Joseph E. Aldy and Robert N. Stavins. Cambridge University Press, 2007, 350-367.

Introduction.

Aldy, Joseph E., and Robert N. Stavins. "Introduction." Architectures for Agreement: Addressing Global Climate Change in the Post-Kyoto World. Ed. Joseph E. Aldy and Robert N. Stavins. Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Market-Based Environmental Policies: What Can We Learn from U.S. Experience and Related Research?

Stavins, Robert N. "Market-Based Environmental Policies: What Can We Learn from U.S. Experience and Related Research?" Moving to Markets in Environmental Regulation: Lessons from Twenty Years of Experience. Ed. Jody Freeman and Charles Kolstad. Oxford University Press, 2006.

Implications of the U.S. Experience with Market-Based Environment Strategies for Future Climate Policy

Stavins, Robert N. "Implications of the U.S. Experience with Market-Based Environment Strategies for Future Climate Policy" Emissions Trading for Climate Policy: U.S. and European Perspectives. Ed. Bernd Hansj&uumlrgens. Cambridge University Press, 2005, 63-77.

Introduction.

Stavins, Robert N. "Introduction." The Political Economy of Environmental Regulation. Ed. Robert N. Stavins. Edward Elgar, 2004.

Technology Policy for Energy and the Environment.

Stavins, Robert N. "Technology Policy for Energy and the Environment." Innovation Policy and the Economy, Vol. 4. Ed. Adam B. Jaffe, Josh Lerner, and Scott Stern. MIT Press, 2004, 35-68.

Technological Change and the Environment.

Jaffe, Adam B., Richard G. Newell, and Robert N. Stavins. "Technological Change and the Environment." Handbook of Environmental Economics, Volume 1. Ed. Karl-Göran Mäler and Jeffrey Vincent. Elsevier Science, 2003.

Experience with Market-Based Environmental Policy Instruments.

Stavins, Robert N. "Experience with Market-Based Environmental Policy Instruments." Handbook of Environmental Economics, Volume 1. Ed. Karl-Göran Mäler and Jeffrey Vincent. Elsevier Science, 2003.

“National Environmental Policy During the Clinton Years.”

Stavins, Robert N., and Robert W. Hahn. “National Environmental Policy During the Clinton Years.” American Economic Policy in the 1990s. Ed. Jeffrey Frankel and Peter Orszag. MIT Press, 2002, 583-660.

Lessons from the American Experiment with Market-Based Environmental Policies.

Stavins, Robert N. "Lessons from the American Experiment with Market-Based Environmental Policies." Market-Based Governance: Supply Side, Demand Side, Upside and Downside. Ed. John D. Donahue and Joseph S. Nye, Jr.. Brookings Institution, 2002.

The Induced Innovation Hypothesis and Energy-Saving Technological Change.

Newell, Richard G., Adam B. Jaffe, and Robert N. Stavins. "The Induced Innovation Hypothesis and Energy-Saving Technological Change." Technological Change and the Environment. Ed. Arnulf Grübler, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, and William D. Nordhaus. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002, 91-126.

Economic Analysis of Global Climate Change Policy: A Primer.

Stavins, Robert N. "Economic Analysis of Global Climate Change Policy: A Primer." Climate Change: Science, Strategies, and Solutions. Ed. Eileen Claussen, Vicki Arroyo Cochran, and Debra P. Davis. Brill, 2001.

Energy-Efficient Technologies and Climate Change Policies: Issues and Evidence.

Jaffe, Adam B., Richard G. Newell, and Robert N. Stavins. "Energy-Efficient Technologies and Climate Change Policies: Issues and Evidence." Climate Change Economics and Policy. Ed. Michael A. Toman. Resources for the Future, 2001.