Public Finance
Energy development on federal lands
In today’s rapidly changing energy landscape, local communities are grappling with the challenge of sustaining their public finances amid increasingly volatile shifts in the value and availability of resources from fossil fuel extraction. The energy transition in the United States raises pressing questions about the financial implications for communities that have long relied on fossil fuel production to fund essential public services, such as K-12 education and local public infrastructure. Central to this issue is the need to better understand how local economies can adapt and thrive in a world where energy dynamics are continuously evolving.
Resources:
- Federal Land Leasing, Energy, and Local Public Finances
- To Grow Local Support, Washington Must Share Renewable Energy Revenues
People
Dustin Tingley is the Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy with a joint appointment in the Harvard Kennedy School…
Ana Martinez (She/Her) is a Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science, working on the Strengthening Communities…
Corporate energy engagement with local communities
County fairs are a staple of American community life and offer companies a chance to sponsor events, promote their brand, and demonstrate local engagement. Energy companies, in particular, have long played a complex role, bringing jobs and funding, but also at times creating local environmental externalities. Understanding their community involvement is key to grasping the broader context of energy transitions. This study provides a unique perspective on firm-level activities, revealing that fossil fuel companies maintain a significantly stronger local sponsorship presence than renewable energy firms.
People
Dustin Tingley is the Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy with a joint appointment in the Harvard Kennedy School…
Pranav Moudgalya (he/him) is an undergraduate at Harvard College studying government and environmental studies. He is studying the political economy…
Ana Martinez (She/Her) is a Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science, working on the Strengthening Communities…
Economic Transformation
Politicians have a number of tools available for trying to transform the economy, ranging from industrial policy like the climate-focused IRA to tariffs. This project interrogates these policy tools to surface the tradeoffs each of these tools face. We collect and deploy novel new data, including around tax incentive contracts and project-level public statements by political leaders.
External partners:
People
Dustin Tingley is the Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy with a joint appointment in the Harvard Kennedy School…
Dylan Carlson Sirvent León (he/him) is a Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science, working on the…