IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/renvpo/doi10.1086-717732.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

COVID-19 Research and Policy Analysis: Contributions from Environmental Economists

Author

Listed:
  • Madison Ashworth
  • Todd L. Cherry
  • David Finnoff
  • Stephen C. Newbold
  • Jason F. Shogren
  • Linda Thunström

Abstract

We discuss contributions by environmental and natural resource (ENR) economists to research and policy analysis of COVID-19. ENR economists have a perspective and tool kit that are particularly well suited to this task. The field of environmental economics began as an interdisciplinary endeavor and has since built on its early legacy to assemble a large set of conceptual models and empirical methods that integrate the relevant natural science, market and nonmarket institutions, and human behaviors to inform policies and shape collective action outcomes. We present elements of policy analysis that together form an integrated framework for studying the pandemic and options for controlling it. We highlight particular tools and skills that provide ENR economists with some comparative advantages for researching and analyzing COVID-19 polices, take stock of what ENR economics research has already achieved, and identify important unresolved issues that ENR economists appear to be especially well qualified to address.

Suggested Citation

  • Madison Ashworth & Todd L. Cherry & David Finnoff & Stephen C. Newbold & Jason F. Shogren & Linda Thunström, 2022. "COVID-19 Research and Policy Analysis: Contributions from Environmental Economists," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 16(1), pages 153-167.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:renvpo:doi:10.1086/717732
    DOI: 10.1086/717732
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/717732
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/717732
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/717732?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2021. "Does the COVID-19 lockdown improve global air quality? New cross-national evidence on its unintended consequences," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    2. Joseph E. Aldy & W. Kip Viscusi, 2008. "Adjusting the Value of a Statistical Life for Age and Cohort Effects," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 573-581, August.
    3. Thomas J. Kniesner & Ryan Sullivan, 2020. "The forgotten numbers: A closer look at COVID-19 non-fatal valuations," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 155-176, October.
    4. Gustav Engström & Johan Gars & Niko Jaakkola & Therese Lindahl & Daniel Spiro & Arthur A. van Benthem, 2020. "What Policies Address Both the Coronavirus Crisis and the Climate Crisis?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 789-810, August.
    5. Maureen Cropper & James K. Hammitt & Lisa A. Robinson, 2011. "Valuing Mortality Risk Reductions: Progress and Challenges," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 313-336, October.
    6. James K. Hammitt, 2020. "Valuing mortality risk in the time of COVID-19," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 129-154, October.
    7. Eleanor J. Murray, 2020. "Epidemiology's Time of Need: COVID-19 Calls for Epidemic-Related Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(4), pages 105-120, Fall.
    8. Berry, Kevin & Finnoff, David & Horan, Richard D. & Shogren, Jason F., 2015. "Managing the endogenous risk of disease outbreaks with non-constant background risk," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 166-179.
    9. Jason F. Shogren & Laura O. Taylor, 2008. "On Behavioral-Environmental Economics," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 2(1), pages 26-44, Winter.
    10. Björn Bos & Moritz A. Drupp & Jasper N. Meya & Martin F. Quaas, 2020. "Moral Suasion and the Private Provision of Public Goods: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 1117-1138, August.
    11. Brodeur, Abel & Cook, Nikolai & Wright, Taylor, 2021. "On the effects of COVID-19 safer-at-home policies on social distancing, car crashes and pollution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    12. Sumedha Gupta & Kosali I. Simon & Coady Wing, 2020. "Mandated and Voluntary Social Distancing During The COVID-19 Epidemic: A Review," NBER Working Papers 28139, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Tammy O. Tengs & Miriam E. Adams & Joseph S. Pliskin & Dana Gelb Safran & Joanna E. Siegel & Milton C. Weinstein & John D. Graham, 1995. "Five‐Hundred Life‐Saving Interventions and Their Cost‐Effectiveness," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(3), pages 369-390, June.
    14. Agüero, Jorge M., 2021. "COVID-19 and the rise of intimate partner violence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    15. Cherry, Todd L. & James, Alexander G. & Murphy, James, 2021. "The impact of public health messaging and personal experience on the acceptance of mask wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 415-430.
    16. Ehrlich, Isaac & Becker, Gary S, 1972. "Market Insurance, Self-Insurance, and Self-Protection," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(4), pages 623-648, July-Aug..
    17. Trudy Ann Cameron, 2010. "Euthanizing the Value of a Statistical Life," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4(2), pages 161-178, Summer.
    18. David Klenert & Franziska Funke & Linus Mattauch & Brian O’Callaghan, 2020. "Five Lessons from COVID-19 for Advancing Climate Change Mitigation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 751-778, August.
    19. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Viet Nguyen, Cuong, 2021. "Gender inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Income, expenditure, savings, and job loss," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    20. Adler, Matthew D. & Ferranna, Maddalena & Hammitt, James K. & Treich, Nicolas, 2021. "Fair innings? The utilitarian and prioritarian value of risk reduction over a whole lifetime," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    21. Martin F Quaas & Jasper N Meya & Hanna Schenk & Björn Bos & Moritz A Drupp & Till Requate, 2021. "The social cost of contacts: Theory and evidence for the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-29, March.
    22. Banzhaf, H. Spencer, 2019. "The Environmental Turn In Natural Resource Economics: John Krutilla And “Conservation Reconsidered”," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 27-46, March.
    23. Lisa A. Robinson, 2007. "Policy Monitor How US Government Agencies Value Mortality Risk Reductions," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 1(2), pages 283-299, Summer.
    24. Stephen C. Newbold & David Finnoff & Linda Thunström & Madison Ashworth & Jason F. Shogren, 2020. "Effects of Physical Distancing to Control COVID-19 on Public Health, the Economy, and the Environment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 705-729, August.
    25. Christoph Bertram & Gunnar Luderer & Felix Creutzig & Nico Bauer & Falko Ueckerdt & Aman Malik & Ottmar Edenhofer, 2021. "COVID-19-induced low power demand and market forces starkly reduce CO2 emissions," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 11(3), pages 193-196, March.
    26. Lawrence H. Goulder & Ian W. H. Parry, 2008. "Instrument Choice in Environmental Policy," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 2(2), pages 152-174, Summer.
    27. William Brock & Anastasios Xepapadeas, 2020. "The Economy, Climate Change and Infectious Diseases: Links and Policy Implications," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 811-824, August.
    28. James Boyd & Rebecca Epanchin-Niell & Juha Siikamäki, 2015. "Conservation Planning: A Review of Return on Investment Analysis," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 9(1), pages 23-42.
    29. Sumedha Gupta & Kosali Simon & Coady Wing, 2020. "Mandated and Voluntary Social Distancing during the COVID-19 Epidemic," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 51(2 (Summer), pages 269-326.
    30. Russell Golman & David Hagmann & George Loewenstein, 2017. "Information Avoidance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(1), pages 96-135, March.
    31. Matthew J. Kotchen & Tatyana Deryugina & James H. Stock, 2021. "Introduction to "Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, volume 3"," NBER Chapters, in: Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, volume 3, pages 1-3, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    32. Matthew Kotchen & James H. Stock & Catherine Wolfram, 2021. "Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, volume 2," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number kotc-2, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. William Brock & Anastasios Xepapadeas, 2024. "Land-use, climate change and the emergence of infectious diseases: A synthesis," DEOS Working Papers 2409, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    2. William Brock & Anastasios Xepapadeas, 2023. "Natural world preservation and infectious diseases: Land-use, climate change and innovation," DEOS Working Papers 2319, Athens University of Economics and Business.

    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. Lisa A. Robinson & James K. Hammitt, 2015. "Research Synthesis and the Value per Statistical Life," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 35(6), pages 1086-1100, June.
    2. James K. Hammitt, 2020. "Valuing mortality risk in the time of COVID-19," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 129-154, October.
    3. Patrick Carlin & Brian E. Dixon & Kosali I. Simon & Ryan Sullivan & Coady Wing, 2022. "How Undervalued is the Covid-19 Vaccine? Evidence from Discrete Choice Experiments and VSL Benchmarks," NBER Working Papers 30118, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Hammitt, James K. & Treich, Nicolas, 2021. "Fatality Risk Regulation," TSE Working Papers 21-1177, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    5. Cong Gian & Sumedha Gupta & Kosali Simon & Ryan Sullivan & Coady Wing, 2024. "Do workers undervalue COVID-19 risk? Evidence from wages and death certificate data," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 69(3), pages 281-321, December.
    6. Jianhua Xu & Shiwei Fan & Jiakun Zheng, 2025. "Valuing mortality risk reductions in the time of COVID-19: A stated-preference analysis," Post-Print hal-04909840, HAL.
    7. Jonathan M. Lee & Laura O. Taylor, 2019. "Randomized Safety Inspections and Risk Exposure on the Job: Quasi-experimental Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 350-374, November.
    8. Thomas J. Kniesner & W. Kip Viscusi, 2023. "Compensating Differentials for Occupational Health and Safety Risks: Implications of Recent Evidence," Research in Labor Economics, in: 50th Celebratory Volume, volume 50, pages 83-116, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    9. Cropper, Maureen L. & Joiner, Emily & Krupnick, Alan, 2023. "Revisiting the Environmental Protection Agency's Value of a Statistical Life," RFF Working Paper Series 23-30, Resources for the Future.
    10. Jessica Carrick-Hagenbarth & Eric Edlund & Avanti Mukherjee, 2023. "Analysis of Hybrid Epidemiological-Economic Models of COVID-19 Mitigation Policies," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 49(4), pages 585-612, October.
    11. Nadia J. Sweis, 2022. "Revisiting the value of a statistical life: an international approach during COVID-19," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(3), pages 259-272, September.
    12. W. Kip Viscusi, 2020. "Pricing the global health risks of the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(2), pages 101-128, October.
    13. Robert J. R. Elliott & Ingmar Schumacher & Cees Withagen, 2020. "Suggestions for a Covid-19 Post-Pandemic Research Agenda in Environmental Economics," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 1187-1213, August.
    14. Adler, Matthew D. & Ferranna, Maddalena & Hammitt, James K. & Treich, Nicolas, 2021. "Fair innings? The utilitarian and prioritarian value of risk reduction over a whole lifetime," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    15. Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Trinh, Trong-Anh, 2021. "Does the COVID-19 lockdown improve global air quality? New cross-national evidence on its unintended consequences," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    16. Adler, Matthew, 2020. "What should we spend to save lives in a pandemic? A critique of the value of statistical life," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 105283, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Brodeur, Abel & Cook, Nikolai & Wright, Taylor, 2021. "On the effects of COVID-19 safer-at-home policies on social distancing, car crashes and pollution," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    18. Bishop, Kelly C. & Kuminoff, Nicolai V. & Mathes, Sophie M. & Murphy, Alvin D., 2024. "The marginal cost of mortality risk reduction: Evidence from housing markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    19. Stephen C. Newbold, 2011. "Valuing Health Risk Changes Using a Life-Cycle Consumption Framework," NCEE Working Paper Series 201103, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised Apr 2011.
    20. Zhu, Junming & Chertow, Marian R., 2017. "Business Strategy Under Institutional Constraints: Evidence From China's Energy Efficiency Regulations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 10-21.

    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:ucp:renvpo:doi:10.1086/717732. 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: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/REEP .

    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.