Environmental and Natural Resource Economics

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics focuses on addressing human interactions with natural systems. At UNM, our studies are transdisciplinary, combining, for example, economics with biology, hydrology, chemistry, engineering, and human health.

We address some of the most pressing environmental and natural resource problems in the world and in the state of New Mexico including (but not limited to) climate change, drought, forests and trees, wildfires, water and water quality, energy, and invasive species.

Our goals are not only to understand the impact of humans and their economic pursuits on the natural world, but also to provide policymakers with improved information with which to develop management policies that provide economic opportunity, long-term environmental and resource viability, and environmental justice.

Our graduates place in academia, government, the national labs, and the private sector.  They've also distinguished themselves with prestigious post-doctoral fellowships.  Recent placements include the University of New Mexico, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, New Mexico State University,  Colorado Mesa University, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and fellowships at Princeton and the University of Minnesota.

Our research is funded by numerous entities.  This includes, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Forest Service, various State of New Mexico departments, including the New Mexico Environmental Department, and the Thornburg Foundation, to name a few.

Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Faculty

Robert P. Berrens, PhD, Oregon State University

Janie M. Chermak, PhD, Colorado School of Mines

Andrew Goodkind, PhD, University of Minnesota

Benjamin Jones, PhD, University of New Mexico

Jingjing Wang, PhD, UC Riverside

Xiaoyang Wang, PhD, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Yuting Yang, PhD, Toulouse School of Economics