IoES/Luskin Research Seminar: Xavier Swamikannu
2014-04-07 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Presented by Xavier Swamikannu, IoES Assistant Adjunct Faculty Candidate”Environmental Protection Priorities and Challenges in South Asia”

Environment and Energy Economics Weekly Seminar: Matthew Kahn
2014-04-10 14:00 - 15:30
“Household Demandfor Low Carbon Public Policies: Evidence from California”AbstractIn recent years, Californians have voted on
two key pieces of low carbon regulation. The resulting voting patterns provide
an opportunity to examine the demand for carbon mitigation efforts. Household
voting patterns are found to mirror the voting patterns by the U.S Congress on
national carbon legislation. Political liberals and more educated voters favor
such regulations while suburbanites tend to oppose such initiatives. Survey
responses at the individual level are shown to predict the spatial variation in
actual voting patterns and hence convergent validity for results obtained with
stated preference data on voting markets.http://www.nber.org/papers/w19965About the Speaker:Matthew E. Kahn is a
Professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment, the Department of
Economics, the Department of Public Policy, the Anderson School of Management and theUCLA Law School. He is a research associate
at the National
Bureau of Economic Research and a research fellow at
IZA. He also serves as a Non-Resident Scholar at the NYU Stern
School of Business at the Urbanization Project and as a Non-Resident
Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Urban
Research. Before joining the UCLA faculty in January 2007, he taught
at Columbia and the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He has served as
a Visiting Professor at Harvard and Stanford and as the Low Tuck Kwong
Distinguished Visiting Professor at the National University of
Singapore. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of
Chicago. He is the author of Green Cities: Urban Growth and the
Environment (Brookings Institution Press 2006) and the co-author of Heroes and Cowards: The Social Face of War (Princeton
University Press 2009). In September 2010, Basic Books published his book
titled Climatopolis . In July 2013, he
published his book titled:Fundamentals of Environmental Economics: Solving Urban
Pollution Problems. My research focuses on environmental,
urban, real estate, and energy economics.
He also serves as the Director of
Research for the UCLA Anderson School’s Ziman
Real Estate Center. Please see Professor Kahn’s website for more information.

Where did all the Money Go? Economic Development in a Post-Redevelopment California
2014-04-16 12:00 - 14:00
Withthe recent impact of the most severe recession since the Great Depression, and
the elimination of redevelopment in California, literally, “Where did all the
Money Go?” And how can we still achieve
the goals of Smart Growth and Sustainable Community planning? This symposium will be a conversation with a
selected group of UCLA alumni from our programs that are engaged in helping to shape
those outcomes. We will also discuss key
issues students will eventually face as planners and policy analysts and how your
education today can help with your professional challenges ahead.
Redevelopment
was a major land assembly and financing tool for economic development, and an
important financing mechanism for affordable housing. Now that it is essentially gone – except for
completing the transfer of outstanding assets by the successor agencies, where
is all the money going and how are jurisdictions coping? How can we continue to plan effectively under
these conditions, and what new financing and planning tools are on the horizon? This is a dynamic and exciting time, although
the future is far from certain.
The
Panelists will discuss the various key topics from their own work perspectives. Professor Donald Shoup will make some introductory
remarks about how the world of urban public finance has changed since he first
started teaching this course over two decades ago. Panelists include:
▪ Moderator- Stan Hoffman, President, Stanley R. Hoffman
Associates, UCLA MA Urban Planning, 1972
▪ Cecilia Estolano, Principal, Estolano LeSar Perez Advisors,
LLC, former Los Angeles CRA director,
UCLA MA Urban Planning, 1991
▪ Robb Steel, Director – Economic Development, former
Redevelopment Director, City of Rialto, UCLA MA Urban Planning, 1981
▪ Brian Gross, Senior Consultant, Waronzof, UCLA MA Urban
Planning, 2002
▪ Julio Morales, Finance Director, City of Huntington Park,
UCLA MBA, 2003
▪ Sarah McPherson Besley, Hollywood Properties Owners
Alliance, UCLA MA Urban Planning, 2007
▪ Jeff Carpenter, retired, former Los Angeles CRA Senior Staff, UCLA MA Urban Planning, 1971

Environment and Energy Economics Weekly Seminar: Hunt Allcott
2014-04-17 14:00 - 15:30
“The Lightbulb Paradox: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments”Abstract:It is often suggestedthat consumers are imperfectly informed about or inattentive to energy costs of
durable goods such as cars, air conditioners, and lightbulbs. We study two
randomized control experiments that provide information on energy costs and
product lifetimes for energy efficient compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs)
vs. traditional incandescent bulbs. We then propose a general model of consumer
bias in choices between energy-using durables, derive sufficient statistics for
quantifying the welfare implications of such bias, and evaluate energy efficiency
subsidies and standards as second best corrective policies if powerful
information disclosure is infeasible. In the context of our theoretical model,
the empirical results suggest that moderate CFL subsidies may be optimal, but
imperfect information and inattention do not appear to justify a ban on
traditional incandescent lightbulbs in the absence of other inefficiencies.Link to paperAbout the Speaker:Hunt Allcott is an Assistant Professor of Economics at New York University and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is also a Scientific Director of ideas42,
a think tank that applies insights from psychology and economics to
problems in international development, health care, consumer finance,
and the energy industry. He is a Contributing Author of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report and,
according to a recent article in the American Economic Journal, one of the top five most-cited economists who have completed a PhD after 2005.
Professor Allcott holds a PhD from Harvard University and a BS
and MS from Stanford University. Before coming to NYU, he was the Energy
and Society Fellow in the MIT Economics Department and the MIT Energy Initiative.
He has also worked in the private sector as a consultant with Cambridge
Energy Research Associates and in international development as a
consultant to the World Bank. During academic year 2013-2014, he is a
visiting professor at Berkeley, Stanford, and the University of Chicago.
Professor Allcott is an applied microeconomist who studies topics in
environmental and energy economics, industrial organization, behavioral
economics, and development microeconomics. His research centers on
consumer behavior, business strategy, and regulatory policy in energy
markets. He uses a variety of tools, including both structural and
reduced form econometrics, applied theory, and randomized field
experiments.

Environment and Energy Economics Weekly Seminar: Catherine Wolfram
2014-04-24 14:00 - 15:30
“The Demand for Energy-Using Assets among the World’s Rising Middle Classes”Abstract:We study decisions to acquire energy-using assets in thepresence of rising incomes. We develop a theoretical framework to show that
credit-constrained, poor households are unlikely to use additional income to
buy appliances. The effect of income growth on asset purchases is stronger at
higher income levels. We use large and plausibly exogenous shocks to household
income generated by the conditional-cash-transfer program in Mexico,
Oportunidades, to show that asset acquisition is nonlinear, depends, as
predicted, on the pace of income growth, and both effects are economically
large among beneficiaries. Our results may help explain important worldwide
trends in energy use.Link to paperAbout the Speaker:Catherine Wolfram is Cora Jane Flood Professor of Business Administration at
the Haas School of Business and a researcher at the UC Energy
Institute. Her research focuses on the economics of energy markets. She has studied the impact of environmental regulation on energy
markets and the effects of electricity industry privatization and
restructuring around the world. She received a PhD in economics from MIT. Before joining the faculty
at UC Berkeley, she was an assistant professor of economics at Harvard
University.
See Catherine Wolfram’s complete bio.

Justice Fusion: Art and Creative Expression for Social & Environmental Equity
2014-04-24 16:00 - 18:00
RSVP at: conta.cc/1q0gK6rSponsored by the UCLA Environmental Justice Initiative, this event explores the intersection between race, class, gender, and environmental issues through art. The event will feature contributions from students and artists at the crossroads of environmental activism and scholarship. Attendees will also have the opportunity to express their own experiences with environmental burdens and benefits through visual and performance art. Learn more about the artists and event…Program4:00-5:00pm Refreshments4:00-5:00pm Photography Exhibit & Live Art5:00-6:00pm Poetry & Spoken WordCo-Hosted by:Center for the Study of InequalityInstitute of the Environment and SustainabilityInstitute of American CulturesLuskin Center for InnovationUCLA Cultural Affairs CommissionUCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

Keynote: Who Owns the Digital City?
2014-04-24 18:00 - 20:00
RSVP by April 21, 2014
REGISTER TODAY!
This conference brings together policymakers, technologists, engineers, activists and intellectuals to explore how information and communication technologies are changing the governance, social experience, management and study of our cities.
This is a part of a larger project at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs to explore the main critical policy issues raised by the digital revolution, which is upending entire fields and industries and causing many changes in our daily lives. The latest phase of information and communication technology development will have a particularly powerful effect on our cities and regions, leading to new paradigms of urban management, public decision-making and participation, social interaction, and social-scientific methodology.
The keynote presentation will be given by computer scientist and futurist Jaron Lanier, author of Who Owns the Future?
Event informationKeynote: Thursday, April 24, 2014 6 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.UCLA Luskin Third Floor Terrace 337 Charles E Young Drive East Los Angeles, California 90095 Conference:Friday, April 25, 2014 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.UCLA De Neve Commons, Plaza Room 351 Charles E. Young Drive West Los Angeles, California 90095 Parking available for $12

2014 LABC Sustainability Summit: California Energy and Water Policy: Is it Driving New Jobs and Investment in Los Angeles?
2014-04-25 07:00 - 14:00
J.R. DeShazo will be a speaker at this year’s LABCAnnual Sustainability Summit. Hailed by notables nationwide as the singular LA event that
captures how best to build and capitalize on the new clean tech economy, this
exceptional forum advocates for business-driven solutions and
policy-prescriptions that can make clean energy more profitable.
At this year’s summit, L.A.
CityMayor Garcetti is invited to share with us his vision and plan for a
sustainable city that creates new jobs and businesses. Also invited to give
keynotes are Dr. Manuel Pastor, Director of USC’s Program for
Environmental and Regional Equity, and City of Lancaster Mayor R. Rex
Parris, who set Lancaster on a path to becoming a net zero city.
Confirmed speakers also include: California State Senator Kevin
de Leon; Gary Lee Moore, Interim Executive Director of the Port
of Los Angeles; Robert Katherman, Water Replenishment District of
Southern California; Commissioner Andrew McAllister, California Energy
Commission and many more.
The LABC Institute will
be partnering with the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation and the USC Program
for Environmental and Regional Equity to conduct research and release a report
on the LADWP Clean LA Solar (Feed-in-Tariff) Program that will provide an early
snapshot of the local impacts and offer suggestions for maximizing the benefits
as the program seeks to scale up to a 600 MW Program.
For more information, Click Here.

Conference: Who Owns the Digital City?
2014-04-25 09:00 - 16:30
RSVP by April 21, 2014REGISTER TODAY!This conference brings together policymakers, technologists, engineers, activists and intellectuals to explore how information and communication technologies are changing the governance, social experience, management and study of our cities.This is a part of a larger project at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs to explore the main critical policy issues raised by the digital revolution, which is upending entire fields and industries and causing many changes in our daily lives. The latest phase of information and communication technology development will have a particularly powerful effect on our cities and regions, leading to new paradigms of urban management, public decision-making and participation, social interaction, and social-scientific methodology.The keynote presentation will be given by computer scientist and futurist Jaron Lanier, author of Who Owns the Future?Event informationKeynote: Thursday, April 24, 2014 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.UCLA Luskin Third Floor Terrace 337 Charles E Young Drive East Los Angeles, California 90095 Conference:Friday, April 25, 2014 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.UCLA De Neve Commons, Plaza Room 351 Charles E. Young Drive West Los Angeles, California 90095 Parking available for $12

Environment and Energy Economics Weekly Seminar: Kyle Meng
2014-05-01 14:00 - 15:30
“Forecasting theCost to Firms of Climate Policy using Prediction Markets and Lobbying
Records” AbstractForecasting the cost of proposed policies may
be difficult when prior experience is limited. This paper develops a novel
forecasting method that combines prediction market prices with stock returns to
estimate the expected cost to firms of the Waxman-Markey climate policy bill. I
find Waxman-Markey would have reduced the value of listed firms by $150 billion
with greater losses for carbon intensive sectors. A regression discontinuity
design finds sectors entitled to free allowances under the bill experienced larger
gains. Lobbying records are used to estimate a political influence function for
listed firms and to partially identify costs for unlisted firms.Link to paperAbout the Speaker:Kyle Meng is an
environmental economist whose
research examines the costs, benefits, and political economy of climate policy
with applications around the world. His research has been published in Nature and PNAS. Kyle is
currently a Postdoctoral Fellow with joint appointment at the Woodrow Wilson
School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the
Environmental Defense Fund. Beginning in the fall of 2014, Kyle will be an
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Management and Economics at
the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Energy Innovation Conference
2014-05-02 08:00 - 15:30
Our Deputy Director, Colleen Callahan, will be speaking at the Energy Innovation Conference!Tickets are on sale now!Industry price: $25 with 50% off discount code “Earlybird”Ticket price includes breakfast, lunch, and parkingThe Energy Innovation Conference seeks to:Showcase innovative technologies with the potential to reinvent the energy industry,Enable entrepreneurs, university researchers, and corporate executives to demonstrate technology to investors, corporations, and industry veterans; andProvide an atmosphere of collaborative learning for all participants through a panel format.Speakers & Panelists:Keynote Speaker:MATT PETERSENChief Sustainability Officer of the City of Los AngelesFeatured Panel:IAN GARDNERChief Strategy & Investment Officer of the LA Cleantech IncubatorJIM MCDERMOTTManaging Partner, US Renewables GroupANIL TAMMINEEDIVenture Capital, Angeleno GroupPanel Topics Include*Panels subject to changeTransportation (EVs & Charging)StorageExploration & Production of Oil & GasEnergy Efficiency & IT / SoftwarePolicy, Government, & RegulationVC & EntrepreneurshipSolarUtility of the Future / Smart Grid110 Westwood PlazaLos Angeles, CA 90095-1481anderson.ucla.edu

IoES/Luskin Research Seminar: Anthony Michaels
2014-05-05 12:00 - 13:00
“Dare to be Trivial”Presented by Dr. Anthony Michaels, Managing Director, Proteus Environmental TechnologiesAbout the TalkUniversities are homes for extraordinary innovation and scholarship. Almost by definition, environmental scholarship has the additional requirement of being relevant to one of the key challenges for the sustainability of life on this earth. Whose job is it to make that relevance real? What are the tools that we use to bring innovations in thought and technology to the lives of the broader public? Most importantly – what is the scale at which we strive to effect change? The problems are so vast and the route to scale so daunting. I propose that we “dare to be trivial”. Pick big challenges and go to the heart of what it takes to execute on a real change at scale. Then ask – what will it take to change 5% of that global environmental challenge through an innovation? That might be trivial, but it is not irrelevant. How can we do it fast? I have chosen to stray from the academic path to look at “high-leverage” methods of changing society through innovation. My toolkit of choice is a combination of new approaches to investing, a hybrid technology development path for innovations and a complex systems perspective. Using real examples that are as diverse as energy efficiency, recycling, waste-to-value and agriculture, this toolkit shows promise for taking academic knowledge to scale – rapidly – and to creating alternate paths to sustainability that leverage the power of market forces. It is complementary to the more traditional toolkits for change such as policy, innovation startups and education. I think that this niche – fairly unpopulated at this time, is a wonderful new opportunity for clever research universities to magnify the relevance and value of scholarship on a path to a better planet.About the SpeakerTony Michaels has 21 years of leadership experience in environmental science, systems thinking and entrepreneurship. He was the founder and Director of the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Southern California from 1996-2008 with combined research and operational budgets of over $15M per year and over 100 faculty, staff and students. He has 27 years of experience in marine and environmental research including research on the global carbon cycle and the role of the oceans in absorbing carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. He co-created and managed a program on the value of climate forecasts in the management of hurricane-related risks by the international reinsurance industry. He was the founding President of the Council of Environmental Deans and Directors, a professional organization for leaders of academic environmental programs that now involves over 140 universities and colleges. He attended the University of California, San Diego (1976-1979), the University of Arizona (B.S. 1982, M.S. 1983) and the University of California, Santa Cruz (Ph.D. in Biology, 1988). He worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Bermuda Biological Station for Research before coming to USC in 1996.

Public Policy for Innovation in the Digital Age: Preventing Technology-Facilitated Exploitation
2014-05-06 12:00 - 13:30
PUBLIC POLICY FOR INNOVATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE SERIESPreventing Technology-Facilitated ExploitationModeratorJohn Villasenor Professor of Public Policy and Electrical Engineering, UCLAPanelistsErnie Allen President & CEO, International Centre for Missing & Exploited ChildrenAdrian Chandley PrincipalProgram Manager Lead, MicrosoftAmanda Hess Staff Writer, SlateCody Monk Special Agent, Federal Bureau of InvestigationThe Internet technologies have brought new avenues for exploitation involving child pornography, human trafficking, sextortion, cyberstalking and other forms of harassment. This panel will consider what can be done to provide local law enforcement agencies with better tools to combat these forms of exploitation. How can we more effectively combat crime, including crimes of exploitation, conducted using the “deep web” and digital currencies? Given the global nature of today’s communications systems, what is the best response to combat exploitation in which the producers and consumers of illicit content are often in different countries?This panel session will explore the challenges associated with fostering the positive aspects of today’s technologies while also addressing their misuse for exploitation.In particular, the panel will address questions including:What can be done to provide local law enforcement agencies with better tools to combat cyberstalking?Cyberstalking and harassment disproportionately target women. How does this chill online participation by women, and what are some steps we could take to address this?To what extent should the government regulate digital currencies such as bitcoin, which can be used for both lawful and unlawful transactions, including transactions associated with exploitation?Given the global nature of today’s communications systems, what is the best response to combat exploitation in which the producers and consumers of illicit content are often in different countries?How can we more effectively combat crime, including crimes of exploitation, conducted using the “deep web”?All Public Policy for Innovation in the Digital Age panels are free. Registration is required. Seating will be first come, first served. Lunch will be served. Daily parking is $12. Pay-by-space parking is also available in Parking Structure SV.

Environment and Energy Economics Weekly Seminar: Katrina Jessoe
2014-05-08 14:00 - 15:30
“Commercial and Industrial Demand Response UnderMandatory Time-of-Use Electricity Pricing”AbstractThis paper is the first to evaluate the
impact of a large-scale field deployment of mandatory time of-use (TOU) pricing
on the energy use of commercial and industrial firms. The regulation imposes higher
user prices during hours when electricity is generally more expensive to
produce, and is the most common way for time-varying incentives to be
transmitted to retail electricity customers. We exploit a natural experiment
that arises from the rules governing the program to present evidence that TOU
pricing induced negligible change in overall usage, peak usage or peak load. As
such, economic efficiency was not increased by this regulation. Bill levels and
volatility exhibit only minor shifts, suggesting that concerns from advocacy
groups about increased expenditure and customer risk exposure have been
overstated.http://kkjessoe.ucdavis.edu/Research.htm.About the Speaker:Katrina
Jessoe is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and
Resource Economics at UC Davis, where she specializes in environmental and
energy economics. Much of her research centers on the design and evaluation of
water regulations and time variant pricing in electricity markets. In her work,
she often collaborates with electric and water utilities, as well as state
agencies. Some recent and ongoing projects include the design of a randomized
field experiment to test the role of information on the price elasticity for
residential electricity, the analysis of time-variant pricing programs for
residential and commercial electricity customers, and the collection of water quality data from public
and state small systems to measure the impact of drinking water quality
regulations in California. She received a BA from Princeton University in 2002
and a PhD in Environmental and Resource Economics from Yale University if 2009.Please see Professor Jessoe’s website for more information.

The Futures of Food and the Futures of Farmers
2014-05-13 17:30 - 20:00
The Futures of Food and the the Futures of FarmersBy the time today’s UCLAundergraduates hit middle age, the world will hold almost 10 billion people,
most of them affluent by historical standards. Dinner for the 10 billion,
agronomists say, will be a huge challenge: We are running out of arable land,
water supplies are stretched, and the advances of the “green revolution” are
fading.
Researchers have proposed two
broad solutions: maintaining the current system of large-scale industrial
monoculture or switching over, at least in substantial part, to a much more
localized, diverse system. The former involves extensive deployment of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs), heavy chemical use and even heavier
computer monitoring. Meanwhile, the small, highly productive farms touted as a
model require vastly more labor—that is, vastly more people working on the
land. The choice of system, a key task of the next generation, will have
enormous impact on the kind of lives people lead tomorrow.
Charles
C. Mann is the author of 1493, a New York Times
best-seller, and 1491,
which won the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ Keck award for the best book
of the year. A correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, Science and Wired, he
has covered the intersection of science, technology and commerce for many
newspapers and magazines here and abroad, including National Geographic, the
New York Times, Vanity Fair and the Washington Post. In addition to 1491 and 1493, he is the co-author
of five other books, one of which is a young person’s version of 1491 called Before Columbus.
Event information
When:
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Reception
6:30 – 8 p.m. Program
Where:
UCLA Public Affairs Building
Third Floor Terrace
337 Charles E Young Drive East
Los Angeles, California 90095
Parking and transit informationRSVP by May 8 or contact us for more information:
charlesmannatuclaluskin.eventbrite.com • 310-206-8034
Sponsored by:
UCLA
Luskin Center for Innovation
Cotsen
Institute of Archaeology – UCLA
UCLA
Asia Institute – International Institute
UCLA
Latin American Institute
Global
Public Affairs at Luskin
UCLA
Cesar E. Chavez Dept. of Chicana/o Studies
UCLA
Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
UCLA
Center for Social Theory and Comparative History
Emmett
Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

The Futures of Food and the Futures of Farmers with UCLA Regents' Lecturer Charles C. Mann
2014-05-13 17:30 - 20:00
By the time today’s UCLAundergraduates hit middle age, the world will hold almost 10 billion people,
most of them affluent by historical standards. Dinner for the 10 billion,
agronomists say, will be a huge challenge: We are running out of arable land,
water supplies are stretched, and the advances of the “green revolution” are
fading.
Researchers have proposed two
broad solutions: maintaining the current system of large-scale industrial
monoculture or switching over, at least in substantial part, to a much more
localized, diverse system. The former involves extensive deployment of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs), heavy chemical use and even heavier
computer monitoring. Meanwhile, the small, highly productive farms touted as a
model require vastly more labor—that is, vastly more people working on the
land. The choice of system, a key task of the next generation, will have
enormous impact on the kind of lives people lead tomorrow.
Charles
C. Mann is the author of 1493, a New York Times
best-seller, and 1491,
which won the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ Keck award for the best book
of the year. A correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, Science and Wired, he
has covered the intersection of science, technology and commerce for many
newspapers and magazines here and abroad, including National Geographic, the
New York Times, Vanity Fair and the Washington Post. In addition to 1491 and 1493, he is the co-author
of five other books, one of which is a young person’s version of 1491 called Before Columbus.

Environment and Energy Economics Weekly Seminar: Tamara Sheldon
2014-05-15 14:00 - 15:30
“Designing Effective Plug-in Electric VehicleRebates”About the Speaker:Tamara
Sheldon is a doctoral candidate in the economics department at University of
California, San Diego. She is interested in environmental, energy, and public
economics. Her research explores demand for plug-in electric vehicles and
infrastructure as well as how the business cycle affects carbon dioxide
emissions.

Environment and Energy Economics Weekly Seminar: Junjie Zhang
2014-05-22 14:00 - 15:30
’Effortless Perfection:’Do Chinese Cities Manipulate Air Pollution Data?Abstract:This paper uses unique data on daily air pollution concentrations over the period 2001-2010to test for manipulation in self-reported data by Chinese cities. First, we employ a discontinuitytest to detect the cities that reported dubious pollution data around the cut-off for ”blue-skydays.” Then, we propose a panel matching approach to identify the conditions under whichirregularities may occur. We find that about 50% of cities reported dubious PM10 pollutionlevels that led to a discontinuity at the cut-off. Suspicious data reporting tends to occur ondays when the anomaly is least detectable. Our findings indicate that the official daily airpollution data are not well behaved, which provides suggestive evidence of manipulation.Link to paperAbout the Speaker:Junjie Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Economics at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego. He is a Senior Advisor at the Asia Society and an Associate Editor at the journal of Marine Resource Economics. Zhang completed his Ph.D. in Environmental and Resource Economics from Duke University in 2008. He also holds a B.A. in Environmental Economics and Management from Renmin University of China, a B.S. and a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Tsinghua University. Zhang’s research centers on empirical issues in environmental and resource economics. He is particularly interested in an interdisciplinary approach that integrates social sciences, engineering and natural sciences to deal with environmental policy problems. His research topics cover air pollution, water resources, climate change, and fisheries. His recent research has focused on the environmental and energy problems in China.

Environment and Energy Economics Weekly Seminar: Koichiro Ito
2014-05-29 14:00 - 15:30
“The Economics of Attribute-Based Regulation: Theory and Evidence from Fuel-Economy Standards”AbstractIn many countries, fuel-economy standards mandate that vehicles meet a certain fuel economy,but heavier or larger vehicles are allowed to meet a lower standard. This has the perverseimplication of allowing automakers to meet standards either by improving fuel economy or byincreasing weight, which lowers fuel economy and increases externalities related to accidents.This is but one example of an attribute-based regulation, in which the regulation imposed on aproduct depends on both the externality it creates and some other attribute. Attribute-basingpotentially motivates rms and individuals to strategically alter the attribute, thereby endogenouslyaltering the stringency of the regulation. This paper develops a theory of attribute-basingto demonstrate the costs and benets of its use. The paper then empirically examines the consequencesof attribute-based fuel-economy standards in Japan, where fuel-economy standardsare a notched attribute-based function of vehicle weight. We use cross-sectional and panel techniquesto demonstrate that attribute-based regulation has signicantly altered the distributionof vehicle weight in Japan, where 10% of vehicles bunch at weight notches. For cars whoseweight is altered in response to the policy, we estimate that the alteration generates a welfareloss from the exacerbation of weight-related externalities of $1525 per unit sold, which translatesinto a $686 million annual loss across the Japanese auto market.http://people.bu.edu/ito/attributes.pdfAbout the Speaker:Koichiro Ito is an assistant professor at Boston University School of Management and a Faculty Research Fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. Before joining BU, he was a SIEPR Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University. His research interests include environmental and energy economics, industrial organization, and public economics.See Professor Ito’s website for more information.

IoES/Luskin Research Seminar: Rajit Gadh
2014-06-02 12:00 - 13:00
“Smart Connection of EVs into the Electric Grid”Recent advances in information and communications systems and battery technologies, in combination with substantial importance given by society to reducing greenhouse gas/carbon emissions, have resulted in accelerated innovations in electric vehicles and the smart and renewable electric infrastructure necessary to fuel and support them. Products such as the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, and Ford Focus Electric, are in the process of creating mass markets for electric vehicles in the U.S. The utilities on their part are rapidly moving towards enhancing their infrastructure through their own investments as well as those from the DOE Stimulus ARRAGrants, and the result will be major changes in their distribution and transmission infrastructure.Nevertheless, the current infrastructure in the U.S. would have adifficult time supporting the charging of these EVs — substantial technological, infrastructure and behavioral changes would be required to scale up the number of EVs. This results in opportunities and challenges, and at UCLA, we are working on developing an innovative smart grid-based infrastructure that takes advantage of the presence of EVs for both G2V (Grid-to-vehicle) and V2G (Vehicle-to-grid) to assist utilities and garage operators in managing loads via aggregated electric vehicles. The underlying research platform — an intelligent middleware connecting, monitoring, controlling, and managing the charging and discharging of EVs using wireless communications, sensors and controllers — will be presented in this session, along with the accompanying opportunities, challenges and future directions for aggregating and charging plug-in electric vehicles.About the Speaker:Professor Rajit GadhDepartment: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering EducationCarnegie Mellon University, 1991Areas of InterestSmart Grid – Communication and control, Electric Vehicle aggregation for Smart Grid Integration, Vehicle to Grid and Grid to Vehicle, Automated Demand Response, Micro-grid modeling, Smart grid for renewable integration, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Wireless Internet of Artifacts, Reconfigurable Wireless Sensing and Networking Systems, Wireless Multimedia Architectures, CAD/CAM/VR/Visualization.

Environment and Energy Economics Weekly Seminar: Mark Jacobsen
2014-06-05 14:00 - 15:30
“Vehicle Scrappage andGasoline Policy”AbstractWe estimate the
sensitivity of scrap decisions to changes in used car values – the “scrap elasticity”
– and show how it influences used car fleets under policies aimed at reducing
gasoline use. Large scrap elasticities produce emissions leakage under efficiency
standards as the longevity of used vehicles is increased, a process known as
the Gruenspecht effect. To explore the magnitude of this leakage we
assemble a novel dataset of U.S. used vehicle registrations and prices, which we
relate through time via differential effects in gasoline cost: A gasoline price
increase or decrease of $1 changes used vehicle prices and alters the number of
fuel-efficient vs. fuel-inefficient vehicles scrapped by 18%. These
relationships allow us to provide what we believe are the first estimates of
the scrap elasticity itself, which we find to be about -0.7. When applied in a
model of fuel economy standards, the central elasticities we estimate suggest
that 12-17% of the expected fuel savings will leak away through the used
vehicle market. This considerably reduces the cost-effectiveness of the
standard, rivaling or exceeding the importance of the often-cited mileage “rebound” effect.Link to paperAbout the speakerMark Jacobsen is an associate professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University. Jacobsen’s research focuses on environmental regulation and taxes and addresses two main themes: the first is environmental regulation of transportation and the automobile industry. The second considers optimal environmental policy in the context of the broader economy.Jacobsen’s work on transportation examines the impact of regulation to reduce gasoline use, including the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and gasoline taxes. He has studied both the efficiency and distributional effects of these policies, examining empirically consumer purchase behavior, the response of automobile manufacturers to regulation, and vehicle safety. A current project considers policy impacts on used car markets. Jacobsen’s research on optimal policy choice applies to a much wider set of environmental policies beyond transportation. He considers policymakers’ choices in the context of the broader economy, showing how Ricardian rents, untaxed activity in the informal sector, and political pressure to protect industry can act to change the type of environmental policy that is most efficient.Please see Professor Jacobsen’s webpage for more information

Public Health, Climate Change and Urban Forestry
2014-08-13 10:00 - 13:00
The Los Angeles Center for Urban Natural ResourcesSustainability and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation invite you to a
presentation on Public Health, Climate
Change, & Urban Forestry by USDA Forest Service collaborators from UCLA
and Cornell University on:Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Los Angeles City Hall | Bradley Tower
(26th Floor)
200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Presentation &
Discussion | 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Lunch
Please RSVP with Kevin O’Donnell at kbodonnell@fs.fed.us no later than July 30, 2014
Confirmation will be followed with additional information for parking_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Public Health,
Climate Change, and Urban Forestry
Californians, and in
particular certain populations in the Los Angeles region, face a number of adverse
health effects due to climate change. This presentation summarizes the latest
research on climate-health pathways, focusing on the most significant climate
impacts in the LA region, other environmental conditions, human behavior, and physical
and mental health. The presenters propose a framework for assessing and
addressing health vulnerability to climate change as part of a dynamic, complex
system that includes urban forestry, water, and environmental justice
considerations. The event will bring together practitioners and researchers in both
urban forestry and public health, along with other local leaders. A group discussion
could include ideas for new collaborations and integrated strategies for
building climate resiliency.

An Evening with Janette Sadik-Khan
2014-10-01 17:30
Janette Sadik-Khan is Principal with Bloomberg Associates, and she is a FormerCommissioner of New York City Department of Transportation.
Internationally recognized for
her expertise in transportation issues, public policy development and
innovative finance, Sadik-Khan implemented an ambitious program to improve
safety, mobility and sustainability throughout NYC, and ensured a state of good
repair on the city’s roads, sidewalks and bridges. Sadik-Khan oversaw a series
of innovative projects, including creating more pedestrian space in Times
Square and along Broadway from Columbus Circle to Union Square, the planning
and launch of seven Select Bus Service routes and the nation’s largest bike
share program, the addition of nearly 400 miles of bicycle lanes and the
installation and design of more than 60 plazas citywide, and the publication of
a Street Design Manual and Street Works Manual, which defined new standards for
creating more durable and attractive streets.
A cocktail reception precedes the
program.
Presented in partnership with the
Department of Urban Planning
Event information
When:
Wednesday,
October 1, 2014
5:30 p.m. Reception
6:30 p.m. Program
Where:
UCLA
California NanoSystems Institute Auditorium
570 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, California 90095
On-site parking available
for $12
Transit: Big Blue Bus,
Culver City Bus, Metro
RSVP
by September 26 or
contact us for more information:
jsk2014.eventbrite.com • 310-206-8034

Environmental Graduate Student Networking Event 2014
2014-10-07 17:00 - 19:30
All graduate students interested in environmental sustainability and energy are invited to a free, cross-campus networking reception.Learn more about campus environmental organizations, student research opportunities, internships, and other events, while you also meet your peers over hors d’oeuvres and refreshments. There is no dress code.REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED: https://www.regonline.com/LuskinNetworking2014(Must have a valid UCLA ID. Graduate students/Faculty/Staff only)Presentations from:Luskin Center for InnovationInstitute of the Environment and SusatainabilityLeaders in sustainabilityEmmett Institute on Climate Change and the EnvironmentGSA Sustainable Resource CenterChief Sustainable Officer

Digital Media Pipeline '14
2014-10-08 08:30 - 15:00
Student Survey for Consumer Panel: The Entertainment Merchant Association is assembling a consumer panel to discuss how and where students access entertainment content. In this panel, they want to include two college students that are active users of digital entertainment and view content on a variety of platforms. If selected, panelists will receive $100.Student DiscountIf you wish to attend, but do not want to be part of the panel, EMA is offering a student discount for Luskin students for a special registration price of $55 (a $395 value).Please email czarate@luskin.ucla.edu if you’d like to participate!Event schedule & Details

The Great California Drought This Time, and Next
2014-10-10 13:30 - 15:00
How has the State Water Resources Control Board managed water during this drought?What has the Board learned about how to respond to the next drought? Featuring:Felicia Marcus,
Chair,
Max Gomberg, Water
Conservation Policy Advisor
State Water
Resources Control Board

Complimentary
Refreshments Following the Lecture

RSVP only: Limited Seating

Sponsored by:UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Water Resources Working GroupCosponsored by:
The UCLA Law School Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the
Environment
Environmental Law Society
The UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation
The UCLA Water Technology Research Center
The UCLA Department of Geography

One
of a series of lectures and discussions organized by the UCLA Water
Resources Working Group to bring together experts on water policy, science,
law, and technology, to work on interdisciplinary solutions to water
sustainability. For more information about the UCLA Water Resources Group
visit:
http://www.environment.ucla.edu/water/

FEC Lecture Series: Diverging Destinies of Dads: Growing Inequality’s Impact on the American Family with Kathryn Edin
2014-11-04 12:30 - 14:00
Diverging Destinies of Dads: Growing Inequality’s Impact on theAmerican FamilyWith Kathryn
Edin of Johns Hopkins University Register at http://feclecturenov4.eventbrite.com Kathryn Edin is one
of the nation’s leading poverty researchers. The hallmark of her research is
her direct, in-depth observations of the lives of low-income women and men and
is particularly interested in questions about the urban poor that have not been
fully answered by quantitative work: How do single mothers possibly survive on
welfare? Why do they end up as single mothers in the first place? Where are the
fathers and why do they disengage from their children’s lives?
Kathy is the author of six books and more than 50 journal articles. The
most recent, Doing the Best I Can: Fathering in the Inner City, written with
Timothy Nelson, will be published in May, 2013 by the University of California
Press. A strikingly rich, paradigm-shifting look at fatherhood among
inner-city men, who are so often dismissed as “deadbeat dads,” Doing the Best I
Can shows how mammoth economic and cultural changes have transformed the
meaning of fatherhood among the urban poor. The book reveals a radical
redefinition of family life, one that has revolutionized the meaning of
fatherhood among inner-city men.
In the award-winning Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood before
Marriage, Kathy Edin and her co-author, Maria Kefalas, sought to
answer the question of why so many low-income women were having children
without marrying, Based on in-depth interviews and observations, the
authors found that, rather than undervaluing marriage, low-income women held
marriage to a very high bar. Child rearing was so central to their views
of themselves that they were unwilling to postpone starting families until they
could find suitable husbands, which could take years, if ever. In its
review, the Wall Street Journal said the authors, “overthrow decades of
conventional wisdom.”
The Russell Sage Foundation published Kathy Edin’s first book, Making Ends
Meet: How Single Mothers Survive Welfare and Low-Wage Work, written with Laura
Lein. This work shed new light on a question that was central to the ongoing
debate about welfare reform: Why weren’t single mothers
working? Edin and Lein found that most mothers were working –
largely off-the-books – and combining resources from several sources (welfare,
work, the fathers of their children, grandmothers) in order to make ends meet
for themselves and their children. The book generated widespread interest and
debate, and led to a profile of Edin in the New York Times Magazine.
A frequent commentator for print and broadcast media, Kathy Edin has
also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on
welfare and marriage issues. She is chair of Harvard’s Multidisciplinary
Program in Inequality and Social Policy. She is a Trustee of the Russell
Sage Foundation, a member of ASPE’s Self Sufficiency Working Group, and on
HHS’s advisory committee for the poverty research centers at Michigan,
Wisconsin, and Stanford. She is a founding member of the MacArthur
Foundation-funded Network on Housing and Families with Young Children and a
past member of the MacArthur Network on the Family and the Economy.
Part of the FEC Public Lecture Series 2014: Growing
Economic Inequality Through Multiple Lenses
Tuesdays, 12:30 – 2 pm
Public Affairs Building 2355

Parched Lawns, Severe Congestion, and Flickering Lights: Rebuilding, reinventing and reimagining California's infrastructure
2014-12-10 07:30 - 11:45
QUARTERLY ECONOMIC OUTLOOKOur December UCLA Anderson Forecast will address the critical infrastructure investments that California requires for a prosperous future. Some of these requirements are made obvious by our daily commutes past parched lawns and dying trees, on roads crowded with vehicles and peppered with potholes, while avoiding the latest water-main breaks. “More of the same” is not the answer for roads and water infrastructure. We need infrastructure that allows us to use more effectively the limited space and the limited water that nature has provided. To attract the creative workers who are so important for the prosperity of all of us, we need better quality-of-life infrastructure to complement the extraordinary climate that we enjoy in California. Sunshine alone is no longer enough. The time has come to express our optimism with action on all of these fronts.Keynote Speaker: TBAPrice: $195 | Online registration closes 11:59 p.m. on 12/7/2014AGENDA7:30 – 8:30aRegistration and Breakfast8:30 – 8:35aWelcome and Introductions8:35 – 9:35aUCLA Anderson Forecast for the Nation and State9:35 – 10:05aPanel 1: Utilities in an Age of Shortage10:05 – 10:25aBreak10:25 – 10:45aIntroduction of Keynote Address10:45 – 11:15aKeynote Address11:15 – 11:45aPanel 2 – Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Moving the California Economy11:45aWrap-up and Closing
KEY TOPICSIs the Economy on track for consistent 3% growth?How worrisome will inflation be?Will a failing infrastructure thwart growth in the years ahead?Will the tech sector growth continue to carry the State economy?Do geysers at UCLA portend an infrastructure impaired future?How long does Los Angeles’ infrastructure investment compare to other cities?
SPEAKERSEdward Leamer, Director, UCLA Anderson ForecastDavid Shulman, Senior Economist, UCLA Anderson ForecastJerry Nickelsburg, Senior Economist, UCLA Anderson ForecastWilliam Yu, Economist, UCLA Anderson ForecastAndy Lipkis, President, Tree PeopleJeff Kightlinger, General Manager, Metropolitan Water DistrictBret Lane, COO, Southern California Gas CompanyMatthew Kahn, Professor, Institute of the Environment, UCLA Luskin School of Public AffairsOtis L. Cliatt II, President, Pacific Harbor Line, Inc.Roger Johnson, Deputy Director, Los Angeles World AirportsAurthur T. Leahy, CEO, Metropolitan Transportation AuthorityJ.R. DeShazo, Director, Luskin center for Innovation, Professor, UCLA Luskin School of Public PolicyRon Galperin, Controller of the City of Los AngelesSPONSORSPlatinum SponsorGold Sponsor Silver Sponsors

Chinese State Capitalism and the Environment
2015-02-02 12:00 - 13:00
About the SpeakerAlex Wang is an Assistant Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. His primary research and teaching interests are in environmental law, Chinese law, comparative law, and torts. He has been a visiting assistant professor at UC Berkeley School of Law.Wang was previously a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) based in Beijing and the founding director of NRDC’s China Environmental Law & Governance Project. In this capacity, he worked with China’s government agencies, legal community, and environmental groups to improve environmental rule of law and strengthen the role of the public in environmental protection. He helped to establish NRDC’s Beijing office in 2006. He was a Fulbright Fellow to China from 2004-05. Prior to that, Mr. Wang was an attorney at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York City, where he worked on mergers & acquisitions, securities matters, and pro bono Endangered Species Act litigation.Wang holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law, and earned his B.S. in Biology with distinction from Duke University. He is on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), a leading Chinese environmental organization. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, where he was a fellow from 2008-10, and the Advisory Board to the Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations. He is a regular speaker on issues related to China and environmental protection. About the TalkChinese state-owned enterprises are commonly viewed as rogue vested interests thwarting state environmental goals through capture of rule making, enforcement, and allocation of state subsidies. While state capture is a useful lens of analysis, this framing has too often obscured how SOEs and central authorities have traditionally been more or less aligned in treating environmental protection as a low-priority objective. Given this alignment of interests, past evidence of SOE non-compliance does not create a strong inference that central authorities are unable to garner SOE compliance with state priorities. With this as foundation, I argue that the recent rise of “green development” priorities in China places central authorities in uncharted territory in their approach to regulating SOEs. In recent years, central authorities have attempted to shift SOE behavior toward green development goals through a combination of accommodation/bargaining (carrots) and bare-knuckled, sometimes extra-legal efforts to weaken the sources of SOE influence (sticks). The approach has also included modest expansion of traditional regulatory and market tools that are commonly favored by Western commentators. The limited embrace of these regulatory and market tools, however, suggests, among other things, a continued unwillingness (or inability) to expand the power of courts and regulatory agencies, and the likelihood that the state will sustain a relatively high-level of intervention in markets and economic activity. Ultimately, this particular approach to authoritarian environmentalism has the potential to deliver some level of environmental performance in the near term. This dynamic has implications for assessments of Chinese state legitimacy and regulatory approaches in authoritarian and emerging economy contexts.

Hurdles and Steps: Estimating Demand for Solar Photovoltaics
2015-02-13 10:00 - 12:00
Hurdles and Steps:Estimating Demand for Solar PhotovoltaicsTsvetan Tsvetanov, Yale UniversityKenneth Gillingham, Yale UniversityNovember 12, 2014JOB MARKET PAPER: AbstractIn light of the steadily decreasing step schedule of financial incentives for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in a number of states, understanding the demand for residential PV systems is important for both policymakers and firms. This paper estimates residential solar demand in Connecticut using a new approach to address three empirical challenges that can arise with count data in our setting: excess zeros, unobserved heterogeneity, and endogeneity of price. We develop a Poisson hurdle model that allows for both fixed effects and instrumental variable estimation. Our results imply a nearly unitary price elasticity of demand for solar PV systems of -1.03. Counterfactual policy simulations suggest that the number of new installations in Connecticut in 2013 would have been 35 percent less than observed in the absence of state financial incentives. Policies to eliminate permitting costs, such as those implemented in several states, would have increased the number of new installations by 1.5 percent.
