Matthew J. Kotchen
Professor of Economics
Yale University
Kroon Hall Room 207
195 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Email: matthew.kotchen@yale.edu
Tel: (203) 432-9533
Fax: (203) 436-9150

 

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Curriculum Vitae
Academic publications
Working Papers
Other Selected Writing

 

Academic Publications

 

Taxing Externalities: Revenue vs. Welfare Gains with and Application to Carbon Taxes
Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, forthcoming.

The Costs of “Costless” Climate Mitigation
Science (2023), with J. Rising and G. Wagner.

Crowding In with Impure Altruism: Theory and Evidence from Volunteerism in National Parks,
Journal of Public Economics, (2023) with K. Wagner.

Reply to Gagon et al.: Short-Run Estimates vs. Long-Run Conjectures
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, (2022) with S. Holland, E. Mansur, and A Yates.

When Can Benefit Cost Analyses Ignore Secondary Markets?
Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis, (2023) with A. Levinson.

Busting the Myths Around Public Investment in Clean Energy,
Nature Energy, (2022) with J. Meckling, J. Aldy et al. 

Why Marginal CO2 Emission are Not Decreasing for US Electricity: Estimates and Implications for Climate Policy,
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, (2022) Supplementary Information, with S. Holland, E. Mansur, and A Yates.

Policy Instrument Choice with Coasean Provision of Public Goods,
Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 9 (2022) 947-980, with C. Costello.

Keep Climate Policy Focused on the Social Cost of Carbon
Science, 373 (2021) 850-852, with J. Aldy, R. Stavins, and J. Stock.

The Producer Benefits of Implicit Fossil Fuel Subsidies in the United States
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, (2021) [Supplementary Information]

Environmental Benefit-Cost Analysis: A Comparative Analysis Between the United States and the United Kingdom,
Annual Review of Resource Economics, 13 (2021) 267-288, with J. Aldy and G. Atkinson.

Funding Public Goods Through Dedicated Taxes On Private Goods,
Land Economics, forthcoming, with N. Chan.

The Role of Retrospective Analysis in an Era of Deregulation: Lessons from the U.S. Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, forthcoming, with Evans, M., K. Palmer, J. Aldy, M. Fowlie, and A. Levinson.

Co-Benefits and Regulatory Impact Analysis: Theory and Evidence from Federal Air Quality Regulations
Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, Volume 2, with J. Aldy, M. Evans, M. Fowlie, A. Levinson, and K. Palmer.

Deep Flaws in Mercury Regulatory Analysis, [Related RFF Podcast]
Science, 368 (2020) 247-248, with J. Aldy, M. Evans, M. Fowlie, A. Levinson, and K. Palmer.

On the Scope of Climate Finance to Facilitate International Agreement on Climate Change,
Economics Letters, 190 (2020).

Report on the Proposed Changes to the Federal Mercury and Air Toxics Standards
E-EEAC Committee Report, (2019), with J. Aldy, M. Evans, M. Fowlie, A. Levinson, and K. Palmer. 

Even the Representative Agent Must Die: Using Demographics to Inform Long-Term Social Discount Rates
Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 7 (2020) 379-415, with E. Addicott and E. Fenichel.

The Use of Group-Level Approaches to Environmental and Natural Resource Policy
Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, forthcoming, with Kathleen Segerson.

The Need for More (Not Less) External Review of Economic Analysis at the U.S. EPA
Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 13 (2019) 308-316, with K. Boyle.

On the Use of Group Performance and Rights for Environmental Protection and Resource Management
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116 (2019) 5285-92, with K. Segerson.

Maximizing the Impact of Climate Finance: Funding Projects or Pilot Projects?
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 92 (2018) 270-281, with C. Costello.

Retreat on Economics at the EPA
Science, 361 (2018) 729, with K. Boyle.

Which Social Cost of Carbon? A Theoretical Perspective
Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 5 (2018) 673-694.

Deciphering Dueling Analyses of Clean Water Regulations
Science, 358 (2017) 49-50, with K. Boyle and V.K. Smith.

Cofinancing in Environment and Development: Evidence from the Global Environment Facility
World Bank Economic Review, 33 (2019) 41-62, with N.K Negi.

Public Willingness to pay for a U.S. Carbon Tax and Preferences for Spending the Revenue
Environmental Research Letters, 12 (2017) 094012, with Z. Turk and A. Leiserowitz.

Longer-Run Evidence on Whether Building Energy Codes Reduce Residential Energy Consumption
Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 4 (2017) 135-153.

Opportunities for Advances in Climate Change Economics
Science, 352 (2016) 292-293, with M. Burke, M. Craxton, C. Kolstad, et al.

Reassessing the Contribution of Natural Gas to U.S. CO2 Emission Reductions Since 2007
Nature Communications, 7 (2016), Article number 10648, with Erin Mansur.

A View From the United States
in T
owards a Workable and Effective Climate Regime, VoxEU ebook (2015).

An Economic Perspective on the EPA's Clean Power Plan
Science, 346 (2014) 815-816, with M. Fowlie, L. Goulder, et al. [Comment submitted to the EPA is available here.]

Testing Motives for Charitable Giving: A Revealed-Preference Methodology with Experimental Evidence
Journal of Public Economics, 120 (2014) 181-192, with R. Deb and R. Gazzale.

Conflicts of Interest Distort Public Evaluations: Evidence from the Top 25 Ballots of NCAA Football Coaches
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 107 (2014) 51-63, with M. Potoski.

Reconsidering Donations for Nonmarket Valuation
Environmental and Resource Economics, 62(2015) 481-490.

Spatial and Temporal Heterogeneity in Marginal Emissions: Implications for Electric Cars and other Electricity-Shifting Policies
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 107 (2014) 248-268, with J. Graff Zivin
and E. Mansur.

The Identification of Causal Effects in Environmental and Energy Economics
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 107 (2014) 173-175, with M. Evans and C. Vossler.

How Stringent is the EPA's Proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants?
Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 8 (2014) 290-306, with E. Mansur.

A Generalized Impure Public Good and Linear Characteristics Model of Green Consumption
Resource and Energy Economics, 27 (2014) 1-16, with N. Chan.

Do Building Codes Save Energy? Evidence from Residential Billing Data in Florida
The Review of Economics and Statistics, 95 (2013) 34-49, with G. Jacobsen.

Rebound Effect is Over-Played
Nature, 493 (2013) 475-476, with K. Gillingham, D. Rapson, and G. Wagner.

Voluntary- and Information-Based Approaches to Environmental Management: A Public Economics Perspective
Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 7 (2013) 276-295.

Community-Based Incentives for Environmental Protection: The Case of Green Electricity
Journal of Regulatory Economics, 44 (2013) 30-52, with G. Jacobsen and G. Clendenning.

Willingness to Pay and Policy-Instrument Choice for Climate-Change Policy in the United States
Energy Policy,
55 (2013) 617-625, with K. Boyle and A. Leiserowitz.

Public Goods
in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics: An Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO Inc., (2014).

Corporate Social Responsibility for Irresponsibility
The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy (Contributions), 12:1 (2012) Article 55, with J. J. Moon.

Willingness to Pay and Political Support for a U.S. National Clean Energy Standard
Nature Climate Change, 2 (2012) 596-599, with J. Aldy and A. Leiserowitz.

The Behavioral Response to Voluntary Provision of an Environmental Public Good: Evidence from Residential Electricity Demand
European Economic Review, 56 (2012) 946-960, with G. Jacobsen and M. Vandenbergh.

Controlling for Habitat Confirms Robust Reserve Effects and Gradients of Abundance Near Borders for California Spiny Lobster
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 451 (2012) 137-150, with M. Kay, H. Lenihan, and C. Miller.

Business Cycle Effects on Concern About Climate Change: The Chilling Effect of Recession
Climate Change Economics, 2 (2011) 257-273, with M. E. Kahn.

Energy Efficiency Codes
The Milken Institute Review, Fourth Quarter (2011), 58-69.

Green Clubs
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 62 (2011) 309-322, with K. van 't Veld.

Review of Climatopolis
Journal of Economic Literature, 49 (2011) 777-779.

Does Daylight Saving Time Save Energy? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Indiana
The Review of Economics and Statistics, 93 (2011) 1172-1185, with L. E. Grant.

An Economic Framework for Evaluating Climate Proofing Investments on Infrastructure
in
Paving the Way for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Guidance for Practitioners and Planners, UNDP (2011).

A Free Lunch in the Commons
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 61 (2011) 245-253, with S. W. Salant.

Cost-Benefit Analysis
Encyclopedia of Climate and Weather, 2nd Edition, S. Schneider and M. Mastrandrea (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2011.

Climate Policy and Voluntary Initiatives: An Evaluation of the Connecticut Clean Energy Communities Program
in The Design and Implementation of U.S. Climate Policy, University of Chicago Press (2012).

Voluntary Provision of Public Goods for Bads: A Theory of Environmental Offsets
Economic Journal, 119 (2009) 883-899.

Explaining the Price of Voluntary Carbon Offsets
Climate Change Economics, 1 (2010) 93-111, with M. N. Conte.

Offsetting Green Guilt
Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2009, 26-31.

Some Microeconomics of Eco-Entrepreneurship
in Frontiers in Eco-Entrepreneurship Research, Emerald Group Publishing (2009).

A Meta-Analysis of Cost of Community Service Studies
International Regional Science Review, 32 (2009) 376-399, with S. L. Schulte.

Grades, Course Evaluations, and Academic Incentives
Eastern Economic Journal, 36 (2010) 151-163, with D. A. Love.

The Effect of Geomorphic Channel Restoration on Streamflow and Groundwater in a Snow-Melt Dominated Watershed
Water Resources Research, 44 (2008) , with C. Tague and S. Valentine.

Reef Structure Regulates Small-Scale Spatial Variation in Coral Bleaching
Marine Ecology Progress Series, 270 (2008) 127-141, with H. Lenihan, M. Adjeroud, J. Hench, and T. Nakamura.

Pharmaceuticals in Wastewater: Behavior, Preferences, and Willingness to Pay for a Disposal Program
Journal of Environmental Management, 90 (2009) 1476-82, with J. Kallaos, K. Wheeler, C. Wong, M. Zahller.

Equilibrium Existence and Uniqueness in Impure Public Good Models
Economics Letters, 97 (2007) 91-96.

An Economics Perspective on Treating Voluntary Programs as Clubs
in Voluntary Programs: A Club Theory Perspective, (2009), MIT Press, with K. van 't Veld.

Conservation: From Voluntary Restraint to a Voluntary Price Premium
Environmental and Resource Economics, 40 (2008) 195-215, with M. R. Moore.

Review of Our Precarious Habitat
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 299 (2008) 581-582.

Should We Drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? An Economic Perspective
Energy Policy, 35 (2007) 4720-4729, with N. E. Burger.

Private Provision of Environmental Public Goods: Household Participation in Green-Electricity Programs
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 53 (2007) 1-16, with M. R. Moore.

Relating Environmental Attitudes and Contingent Values: How Robust Are Methods for Identifying Preference Heterogeneity?
Environmental and Resource Economics, 37 (2007) 757-775, with G. Aldrich, K. Grimsrud, and J. Thacher.

Meeting the Challenges of the Anthropocene: Toward a Science of Coupled Human-Biophysical Systems
Global Environmental Change, 17 (2007) 149-151, with O. R. Young.

Green Markets and Private Provision of Public Goods
Journal of Political Economy, 114 (2006) 816-834.

Explaining the Appearance and Success of Voter Referenda for Open-Space Conservation
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 52 (2006) 373-390, with S. M. Powers.

Environmental Constraints on Hydropower: An Ex-Post Benefit-Cost Analysis of Dam Relicensing in Michigan
Land Economics, 82 (2006) 389-403, with M. R. Moore, F. Lupi, and E. Rutherford.

Impure Public Goods and the Comparative Statics of Environmentally Friendly Consumption
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 49 (2005) 281-300.

Review of The Economics of Sustainable Development
Journal of Regional Science, 46 (2006) 583-86.

Internal and External Influences on Pro-Environmental Behavior: Participation in a Green Electricity Program
Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23 (2003) 237-46, with C. F. Clark and M. R. Moore.

Review of Principles of Environmental and Resource Economics
The Annals of Regional Science, 36:4 (2002) 697-99.

Environmental Voluntary Contracts Between Individuals and Industry: An Analysis of Consumer Preferences for Green Electricity
in Environmental Voluntary Contracts: Comparative Approaches to Regulation Innovation in the United States and Europe, London: Kluwer Law International (2001) 409-23, with M. R. Moore and C. F. Clark.

Environmental Attitudes, Motivations, and Contingent Valuation of Nonuse Values: A Case Study Involving Endangered Species
Ecological Economics, 32 (2000) 93-107, with S. D. Reiling.

Do Reminders of Budget Constraints and Substitutes Influence Contingent Valuation Estimates? Another Comment
Land Economics, 75 (1999) 478-82, with S. D. Reiling.

Incorporating Resistance in Pesticide Management: A Dynamic Regional Approach
in Regional Sustainability: Applied Ecological Economics Bridging the Gap Between Natural and Social Sciences, New York: Springer Verlag (1999) 126-35.

Estimating and Questioning Economic Values for Endangered Species: An Application and Discussion
Endangered Species Update, 15:5 (1998) 9-15, with S. D. Reiling.