Catherine Wolfram
Member, RFF Board of Directors; University Fellow; William F. Pounds Professor of Energy Economics, MIT Sloan School of Management
Catherine Wolfram is the William F. Pounds Professor of Energy Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She previously served as the Cora Jane Flood Professor of Business Administration at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. From March 2021 to October 2022, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Climate and Energy Economics at the US Treasury, while on leave from UC Berkeley. Before leaving for government service, she was the Program Director of the Environment and Energy Economics Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a research affiliate at the Energy Institute at Haas. Before joining the faculty at UC Berkeley, she was an assistant professor of economics at Harvard.
Wolfram has published extensively on the economics of energy markets. Her work has analyzed rural electrification programs in the developing world, energy efficiency programs in the United States, the effects of environmental regulation on energy markets, and the impact of privatization and restructuring in the United States and United Kingdom. She is currently working on several projects at the intersection of climate and trade.
Education
- PhD in economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996
- AB in economics, Harvard University, 1989
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Report — Oct 10, 2024
How Carbon Border Adjustments Might Drive Global Climate Policy Momentum
This report examines how the European Union carbon border adjustment mechanism creates an important incentive for other countries to adopt carbon pricing, and how this policy spillover effect could increase as more countries adopt similar policies.
Resources Magazine — May 16, 2024
Understanding the Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act passed into law in August 2022. Already, the law has begun driving low-carbon investments—though additional policies could help the United States decarbonize by midcentury.
Media Highlight — Mar 4, 2024
Heatmap: “A Carbon Tax is Back on the Table”
RFF board member Catherine Wolfram offers comments on a new paper she coauthored in this article about renewed attention on carbon taxes.
Media Highlight — Oct 18, 2023
Washington Post: “Petrostates Usually Benefit from War. Let’s Make Sure Iran and Russia Don’t.”
Catherine Wolfram, a university fellow and member of the RFF Board of Directors, coauthored an op-ed about the complicated relationship between international politics and oil prices.
Resources Magazine — May 16, 2024
Understanding the Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act passed into law in August 2022. Already, the law has begun driving low-carbon investments—though additional policies could help the United States decarbonize by midcentury.
Resources Radio — Jan 3, 2023
2022 Year in Review: Energy and Environmental Policy, with Catherine Wolfram and John Larsen
Catherine Wolfram and John Larsen discuss the year’s biggest energy and environmental policy stories at the state, national, and international levels.
Resources Magazine — Mar 18, 2020
It’s a Good Time for Women to Win the Nobel Prize
Catherine Wolfram discusses last year's historic Nobel Prize in Economics, reviews the significance of randomized controlled trials, and shares wisdom for women in economics.
Press Release — Oct 26, 2022
Resources for the Future’s Board of Directors Welcomes Three New Members
As members of RFF’s Board of Directors, Jonathan Garfinkel, Paula Glover, and Catherine Wolfram will lend their academic, policy, and industry expertise to help further Resources for the Future’s strategic goals.
Media Highlight — Mar 4, 2024
Heatmap: “A Carbon Tax is Back on the Table”
RFF board member Catherine Wolfram offers comments on a new paper she coauthored in this article about renewed attention on carbon taxes.
Media Highlight — Oct 18, 2023
Washington Post: “Petrostates Usually Benefit from War. Let’s Make Sure Iran and Russia Don’t.”
Catherine Wolfram, a university fellow and member of the RFF Board of Directors, coauthored an op-ed about the complicated relationship between international politics and oil prices.