PhD Student in Economics and Environmental Economics in the Department of Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

I'm interested in the intersection of economics, environmental studies, and development.  Economic development has brought unparalleled well-being to many people, and in doing so has also created new maladies.  The state of the environment, and our relationship therewith, will play an increasingly important role as we continue to grow.  Furthermore, development has not always increased the welfare of all germane parties.  As we become ever more interconnected, it is all the more important to ensure that basic developmental processes are understood and appropriately and democratically utilized. 

I have had diverse academic and professional experiences to prepare me for this interdisciplinary study.  As an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, I studied Latin American History and Economics, with a minor in Mathematics.  During this time, I conducted original research on organic farming and agricultural history in Paraguay funded by LLILAS.  I was also part of team of filmmakers that produced documentaries on organic farming and education in Paraguay as well as statelessness and human trafficking in Thailand.  After graduating, I worked for an energy efficiency consulting firm as a program and portfolio analyst, where I also developed tools to analyze the environmental benefits of efficiency.

This website is meant to be a home environment for me to professionally share my research interests and experience, store useful and relevant links and information, and provide easy access to course materials for students.  For material that I've created and decided to share, see My Econ Material.  Additionally, I hope to maintain several pages of my personal interests.

While this website is of both a personal and professional nature, some of my opinions and views will certainly be present.  I hope to maintain a non-offensive environment, and if any of this material is disagreeable to you, please let me know at chris dot severen at ucsb dot umail dot edu.