IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/coecpo/v44y2026i3p515-528.html

An updated consensus survey of environmental and natural resource economists

Author

Listed:
  • Lea‐Rachel Kosnik
  • John C. Whitehead
  • Timothy C. Haab

Abstract

In 2023 a survey was given to environmental and natural resource economists to gauge levels of consensus in the field. Strong consensus can signal to policymakers the relative strength of particular policy proposals. Respondents were queried on topics including air quality, groundwater, climate change, natural resource management, land conservation, environmental justice, and more. Survey results were compared to a similar survey given in 2012, to determine how consensus levels may have changed over time. We find, for the most part, significant levels of consensus today, and over time, on many key topics and policy proposals.

Suggested Citation

  • Lea‐Rachel Kosnik & John C. Whitehead & Timothy C. Haab, 2026. "An updated consensus survey of environmental and natural resource economists," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 44(3), pages 515-528, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:44:y:2026:i:3:p:515-528
    DOI: 10.1111/coep.70025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.70025
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/coep.70025?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Andre & Armin Falk, 2021. "What’s Worth Knowing? Economists’ Opinions about Economics," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 102, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    2. Ströbel, Johannes & Wurgler, Jeffrey, 2021. "What do you think about climate finance?," CEPR Discussion Papers 16622, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    3. Timothy C. Haab & John C. Whitehead, 2017. "What do Environmental and Resource Economists Think? Results from a Survey of AERE Members," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 11(1), pages 43-58.
    4. Robert Whaples & Jac C. Heckelman, 2005. "Public Choice Economics: Where is there Consensus?," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 49(1), pages 66-78, March.
    5. Victor R. Fuchs & Alan B. Krueger & James M. Poterba, 1998. "Economists' Views about Parameters, Values, and Policies: Survey Results in Labor and Public Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 1387-1425, September.
    6. Laura Stoker & M. Kent Jennings, 2008. "Of Time and the Development of Partisan Polarization," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(3), pages 619-635, July.
    7. Dan Fuller & Doris Geide-stevenson, 2003. "Consensus Among Economists: Revisited," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 369-387, December.
    8. Sander L van der Linden & Anthony A Leiserowitz & Geoffrey D Feinberg & Edward W Maibach, 2015. "The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change as a Gateway Belief: Experimental Evidence," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(2), pages 1-8, February.
    9. Alston, Richard M & Kearl, J R & Vaughan, Michael B, 1992. "Is There a Consensus among Economists in the 1990's?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 203-209, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lea-Rachel Kosnik & John C. Whitehead & Timothy C. Haab, 2025. "Shifting Perspectives: An Updated Survey of Environmental and Natural Resource Economists," Working Papers 25-02, Department of Economics, Appalachian State University.
    2. Ann Mari May & Mary G. Mcgarvey & Robert Whaples, 2014. "Are Disagreements Among Male And Female Economists Marginal At Best?: A Survey Of Aea Members And Their Views On Economics And Economic Policy," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(1), pages 111-132, January.
    3. Michele Di Maio, 2013. "Are Mainstream and Heterodox Economists Different? An Empirical Analysis," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(5), pages 1315-1348, November.
    4. Daniel B. Klein & Charlotta Stern, 2007. "Is There a Free‐Market Economist in the House? The Policy Views of American Economic Association Members," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(2), pages 309-334, April.
    5. repec:ejw:journl:v:6:y:2009:i:3:p:337-348 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Chris Doucouliagos & T.D. Stanley, 2013. "Are All Economic Facts Greatly Exaggerated? Theory Competition And Selectivity," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 316-339, April.
    7. O’Neill, Donal, 2015. "Divided opinion on the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013: Random or systematic differences?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 175-178.
    8. Ferto, Imre, 2005. "Is There a Consensus among Agricultural Economist?," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24669, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. May, Ann Mari & McGarvey, Mary G. & Gustafson, Christopher R. & Mieno, Taro, 2021. "Gender, environmental issues and policy: An examination of the views of male and female economists," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    10. Timothy C. Haab & John C. Whitehead, 2017. "What do Environmental and Resource Economists Think? Results from a Survey of AERE Members," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 11(1), pages 43-58.
    11. Niclas Berggren & Henrik Jordahl & Charlotta Stern, 2009. "The Political Opinions of Swedish Social Scientists," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 75-88, Autumn.
    12. Alan Blinder & Alan Krueger, 2004. "What Does the Public Know about Economic Policy, and How Does It Know It?," Working Papers 875, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    13. Roger Gordon & Gordon B. Dahl, 2013. "Views among Economists: Professional Consensus or Point-Counterpoint?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(3), pages 629-635, May.
    14. Author-Name: Alan S. Blinder & Alan B. Krueger, 2004. "What Does the Public Know about Economic Policy, and How Does It Know It?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 35(1), pages 327-397.
    15. Lucey, Brian M. & Delaney, Liam, 2007. "A psychological, attitudinal and professional profile of Irish economists," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 841-855, December.
    16. Marina Riem, 2017. "Essays on the Behavior of Firms and Politicians," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 73, April.
    17. Klein, Daniel B. & Stern, Charlotta, 2005. "Narrow-Tent Democrats and Fringe Others: The Policy Views of Social Science Professors," Working Paper Series 8/2005, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    18. Hendrik P. van Dalen, 2019. "Values of Economists Matter in the Art and Science of Economics," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(3), pages 472-499, August.
    19. Thomas Mayer, 2001. "The role of ideology in disagreements among economists: a quantitative analysis," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 253-273.
    20. Bichler, Shimshon & Nitzan, Jonathan, 2023. "The Business of Strategic Sabotage," Review of Capital as Power, Capital As Power - Toward a New Cosmology of Capitalism, vol. 2(2), pages 81-95.
    21. Gregory Chow & Yan Shen, 2004. "Money, Price Level and Output in the Chinese Macro Economy," Working Papers 104, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:44:y:2026:i:3:p:515-528. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/weaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.