I am a microeconomist by training and draw on interdisciplinary methods. My research focuses on forests, fisheries, and water, and their intersection with economic development.

There are three reasons why I believe environment and resource issues are critically important for development:

• People who suffer from poverty are often highly reliant on natural resources, particularly in rural areas, and disproportionately vulnerable to resource depletion and ecosystem services failure;

• These people often bear a disproportionate share of the costs associated with protecting globally important environmental assets, such as tropical forests or coral reefs;

• Rapid economic change in many low and middle income countries amplifies conflict between environmental and social goals. Natural resources are key inputs into sectors of comparative advantage for these countries, yet rapid change places pressure on these same resources and their dependents.

Essentially, economics is about trade-offs and choices, including trade-offs and choices regarding environmental protection and resource use. These trade-offs are most consequential for welfare in lower income settings.

Click the links in the menu bar (or below) for descriptions of ongoing and past research by theme. These pages contain downloadable full-text PDF of articles.

• Forests
• Fisheries
• Water