At the Department of Resource Economics, we tackle complex questions about how to use our environmental, natural and human resources. By researching important societal problems and gathering and analyzing data, we offer policy solutions that move the needle on today’s most pressing issues. Our undergraduate and graduate programs focus on industrial organization, environmental economics, natural resource economics and health economics. And our award-winning faculty produces groundbreaking research that impacts how we approach our world.
The Department of Resource Economics is pleased to release our 2023 annual newsletter. Click on the image to learn more about what's new in the department, including our growth - we are now home to almost 400 undergraduate majors!
Interested in learning more about our programs? Take the first step: Connect with us now!
Gazi Uddin, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Faculty Sponsor: Nathan Chan
The department of Resource Economics is pleased to present the Fall 2023 seminar series. All seminars will be available in person in Stockbridge 303 unless stated otherwise below.
Friday, March 15, 10:30am - 12:00pm | Nicholas Ryan
Department of Economics, Yale University
Speciality: Development Economics, Environmental Economics, Industrial Organization
Friday, April 5, 10:30am - 12:00pm | Sofia Villas-Boas
Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of California Berkeley
Specialty: Industrial Organization, Consumer Behavior, Food Policy & Environmental Regulation
Friday, April 19, 10:30am -12:00pm | Christian Vossler
Department of Economics, University of Tennessee
Specialty: Environmental & Public Economic Issues
Wednesday, April 24, 10:30am - 12:00pm | Tongzhe Li
Department of Food, Agricultural & Resource Economics, University of Guelph
Specialty: Economic Theory & Behavioral Approaches
As high temperatures become more frequent and intense due to climate change, UMass Amherst scientists are developing interdisciplinary research aimed at helping communities increase resilience to extreme heat by monitoring physiological, mental and behavioral health factors.
Tauhidur Rahman, assistant professor of computer and information sciences, and social scientist Jamie Mullins, assistant professor of resource economics,received a $75,000 planning grant from the National Science Foundation’s Smart and Connected Communities program to fund their project.
Resource Economics associate professor Christine L. Crago is co-PI on two grants totaling $6.3 million from the National Science Foundation. The grants will fund a new graduate training program, ELevating Equity VAlues in the Transition of the Energy System (ELEVATE) which aims to ensure that the transformation of the electric grid is both sustainable and benefits all members of society equitably, an aspect of energy transition not often considered in policymaking or public discourse. “I’m really excited to be looking at equity and distributional impacts of the renewable energy transition,” says Dr. Crago. “As we promote an energy system dominated by renewable energy, we want to carefully consider the impact of more renewables on energy prices and control of energy assets, and their subsequent impacts on equity.”