Using careful scholarship to inform policy choices is at the core of what we do at RFF. This issue of Resources offers several excellent illustrations of how we bring serious research and ideas to the service of public policy.
As I write this, the United States is in the midst of a campaign to choose a new president. Energy and environmental issues loom large, and RFF University Fellow Jon Krosnick provides some valuable context for understanding this phenomenon and its implications for the policy landscape. Much of his extensive research of American public opinion has been conducted with RFF's Ray Kopp.
Visiting Scholar Nigel Purvis takes on the difficult question of the linkage between domestic climate action and securing international agreements, proposing a novel way out of an issue that has emerged as a major impediment to U.S. international climate negotiators. A full institutional analysis underpinning this proposal can be accessed here.
RFF Senior Fellow Carolyn Fischer and University Fellow Richard Newell share the results of their examination of a suite of currently proposed policies to promote technological innovation of alternatives to fossil fuels. Their results provide an important insight for policymakers looking to expand green power—don’t underestimate the effectiveness of an emissions price.
The strength of all of these contributions stems from their roots in serious research, something that continues to be at the heart of RFF. As our scholars are called on more and more for advice by the policy community, it is important to emphasize our continued commitment to serious academic research. In the past few months, our scholars have published in top-tier academic journals like the American Economic Review, Science, the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, and the Review of Economics and Statistics.
To facilitate and support this kind scholarship and policy input, we have added two important players to RFF's senior leadership team: Mark Cohen, our new vice president for research, and Lea Harvey, our new vice president for development. They are already proving to be very valuable assets, bringing us fresh energy and thinking, coupled with an appreciation for the ideals that have guided this institution for over 50 years.
