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Rolling The Dice In The Corridors Of Power: William Nordhaus’S Impacts On Climate Change Policy

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  • JOSEPH E. ALDY

    (Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA†Resources for the Future, Washington, DC 20036, USA‡National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA§Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC 20036, USA)

  • ROBERT N. STAVINS

    (Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA†Resources for the Future, Washington, DC 20036, USA‡National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA)

Abstract

The seminal contributions of William Nordhaus to scholarship on the long-run macroeconomics of global climate change are clear. Much more challenging to identify are the impacts of Nordhaus and his research on public policy in this domain. We examine three conceptually distinct pathways for that influence: his personal participation in the policy world; his research’s direct contribution to the formulation and evaluation of public policy; and his research’s indirect role informing public policy. Many of the themes that emerge in this assessment of the contributions of one of the most important economists to have worked in the domain of climate change analysis apply more broadly to the roles played by other leading economists in this and other policy domains.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph E. Aldy & Robert N. Stavins, 2020. "Rolling The Dice In The Corridors Of Power: William Nordhaus’S Impacts On Climate Change Policy," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(04), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ccexxx:v:11:y:2020:i:04:n:s2010007820400011
    DOI: 10.1142/S2010007820400011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate change policy; environmental economics; social cost of carbon; carbon tax; climate club; national income accounts;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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