Research

Published Policy Reports:

Job Market Paper:

 Leaking Environmental Injustice? Evidence from RGGI

 In collaboration with Dr. Chan, my job market paper investigates whether the regional CO2 market inadvertently causes environmental injustice by exacerbating existing disparities in emission exposure, based on race and income. Focusing on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a regional CO2 cap-and-trade program introduced in US electricity in 2009, we analyze emission data from 1999-2018. Our study observes how emissions evolved in both regulated states (i.e., states directly affected by the policy) and in unregulated affected states (i.e., states that might experience “leakage” from the policy). We use a reduced complexity air quality model to track CO2 co-pollutants from sources to receptor counties. Using a difference-in-difference design with heterogeneous treatment effects, we find counties with a higher share of the black population and lower median household income received higher emissions from electricity production. Importantly, with the introduction of the regional CO2 market, this disparity has grown in regulated and affected-unregulated regions, compared to unaffected-unregulated regions.

Dissertation Chapter:

 A CO2 Market that Considers Environmental Justice

 In the second chapter of my dissertation, in collaboration with Dr. Stranlund, we contribute theoretical insights to the ongoing debate surrounding the impact of CO2 markets on environmental justice. Existing CO2 markets often incorporate essential features of the textbook model of emissions markets, let one-for-one trading of allowances among firms, resulting in allowance prices that minimize aggregate costs of CO2 emission control. However, environmental justice advocates express concerns that such markets may lead to or worsen inequitable distributions of CO2 co-pollutants, with associated local repercussions for communities. Since CO2 markets are not designed to address the spatial distribution of CO2 emissions, they do not directly confront this concern about the distributional implications of the policy on communities. Although several empirical studies have explored the effects of CO2 markets on the distribution of CO2 co-pollutant exposure, we are unaware of a rigorous theoretical examination of the problem. Consequently, we examine the optimal pricing of CO2 when a regulator considers environmental justice (EJ) constraints that ensure that the CO2 market does not unduly exacerbate existing inequities in the exposure to a CO2 co-pollutant. We examine the regulatory impact of the co-pollutant and the EJ constraints on the optimal CO2 prices required to achieve cost-effective compliance with a fixed aggregate CO2 emissions cap, as well as efficient CO2 prices when the co-pollutant is also regulated efficiently.

Dissertation Chapter:

 Incomplete CO2 Markets and Co-Pollutant Leakage?

 The third chapter of my dissertation extends the investigation into regional greenhouse gas (GHG) markets, considering issues of leakage in GHG co-pollutants. Incomplete regulation, applied to a subset of facilities, often leads to unforeseen policy consequences such as emission leakage and redistribution of emissions. Earlier works explore the leakage of GHG emissions between regulated and unregulated facilities under incomplete regulation; however, they do not consider co-pollutants. These considerations are of paramount importance, both regionally and globally, within the context of incomplete GHG markets. Leveraging a theoretical framework, my ongoing research contributes to a deeper understanding of regional environmental markets.

Selected Works in Progress: