The Economics of Coal Leasing on Federal Lands: Ensuring a Fair Return to Taxpayers

At this RFF seminar, Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), unveiled a new CEA report that examines the economic principles underlying the program, discusses the case for reform, and provides quantitative estimates of the effects of such changes. Furman's remarks were followed by an expert panel discussion on reforming the federal coal leasing program.

Date

June 22, 2016

Time

8:45–10:00 a.m. ET

Participants

Jason Furman, Kenneth Gillingham, Michael Greenstone, Alan Krupnick, Adele Morris, and James Stock

Event Series

Workshop

Event Details

In 2015, the Bureau of Land Management’s federal coal leasing program accounted for nearly 40 percent of coal production in the United States and supplied some of the lowest-cost coal available. The program has been widely critiqued in recent years for providing a poor return to taxpayers and failing to adequately address the environmental costs of coal extraction and processing. At this RFF seminar, Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), unveiled a new CEA report that examines the economic principles underlying the program, discusses the case for reform, and provides quantitative estimates of the effects of such changes. Furman's remarks were followed by an expert panel discussion on reforming the federal coal leasing program.

Event Video

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Jason Furman: The Economics of Coal Leasing on Federal Lands: Ensuring a Fair Return to Taxpayers

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Topics

Participants

Jason Furman

Kenneth Gillingham

Michael Greenstone

Alan Krupnick

Senior Fellow; Director, Industry and Fuels Program

Alan Krupnick is a senior fellow at RFF.

Adele Morris

James Stock

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