Energy Policy Symposium: Distributional Aspects of Energy and Climate Policy
On January 20 and 21, 2010, the University of Chicago, Resources for the Future, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign held a research conference in Washington on the Distributional Aspects of Energy Policy and Climate Change. This was the first of an annual series of research symposia addressing major topics in energy policy. The conference brought together senior policymakers and leading researchers from the fields of economics, physical sciences, computational sciences, and law. Gary Becker, winner of the 1992 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, was among the participants at this symposium.
The conference addressed the design and economic effects of energy policies directed at creating a low-carbon economy, with an emphasis on identifying and measuring the effectiveness and distributional consequences of those policies. Ten original research presentations covered the following areas:
- The design and economic effects of energy policies;
- The effects of “carbon pricing” on the growth and distribution of income;
- Methods for measuring and simulating the effects of alternative policies;
- Global impact and the prospects for international cooperation in energy policy.
The conference offered a timely opportunity for the research and policy communities to discuss various relevant policy designs.
All original papers presented at this conference will be compiled in a forthcoming RFF Press book.
