CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS – The Harvard Environmental Economics Program (HEEP) has awarded three prizes to Harvard University students for the best research papers addressing a topic in environmental, energy, or natural-resource economics – one prize each for an undergraduate paper or senior thesis, master’s student paper, and doctoral student paper. Each prize was accompanied by a monetary award.
HEEP is a University-wide initiative based in Harvard Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government that seeks to develop innovative answers to today’s complex environmental challenges.
Robert Stavins, HEEP Director and A.J. Meyer Professor of Energy and Economic Development at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), noted that “The papers submitted this year were of exceptional quality, and the choice of winners was difficult. Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all who participated.”
The winners are:
The Ana Aguado Prize for the best paper by a doctoral student:
The Prize is shared this year between:
Eleanor Krause, Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy: “Job loss, selective migration, and the accumulation of disadvantage: Evidence from Appalachia’s coal country.” Eleanor’s dissertation committee: Joseph E. Aldy, Professor of the Practice of Public Policy, HKS; Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University Department of Economics; and Gordon Hanson, Peter Wertheim Professor in Urban Policy, HKS.
Kristen McCormack, Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy: “Education under extremes: Temperature, student absenteeism, and disciplinary infractions.” Kristen’s dissertation committee: David M. Cutler, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics, Harvard University Department of Economics (Chair); Joseph E. Aldy, Professor of the Practice of Public Policy, HKS; Marcella Alsan, Professor of Public Policy, HKS; and Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University Department of Economics.
The Mossavar-Rahmani Center Prize for the Best Paper by a Master’s Degree Student:
The Prize is shared this year between:
Yomna Mohie Eldin and Antonio Pompa, Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA-ID) candidates, 2023: “Fostering climate resilience in the context of debt distress: The case of Pakistan.” The paper is Yomna and Antonio’s Second Year Policy Analysis (SYPA) – the capstone project in the MPA-ID program. SYPA Advisor: Federico Sturzenegger, Adjunct Professor of Public Policy, HKS, and former President of the Central Bank of Argentina. SYPA Section Leader: Carmen Reinhart, Minos A. Zombanakis Professor of the International Financial System. Client: Pakistan Debt Management Office, Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan.
Yi Wu, Master in Public Policy (MPP) candidate, 2023: “Developing an efficient investment framework of transmission grid systems in Sub-Saharan Africa.” The paper is Yi’s Policy Analysis Exercise (PAE) – the capstone project in the MPP program. PAE Advisor: William Hogan, Raymond Plank Research Professor of Global Energy Policy, HKS. PAE Seminar Leader: Janina Matuszeski, Lecturer in Public Policy, HKS. Client: World Bank Group
The Enel Endowment Prize for the Best Senior Thesis or Undergraduate Paper:
Lucas Woodley, Bachelor of Arts in Economics candidate, 2023: “Estimating the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on used and new vehicle markets: Combining theory and fieldwork.” Senior Thesis presented to the Department of Economics. Thesis Advisor: James H. Stock, Harold Hitchings Burbank Professor of Political Economy and Director, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University. Senior Seminar Leader: Kiran Gajwani, Associate Director of Undergraduate Advising in Economics.
Further information about the prize-winners:
Eleanor Krause is a Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy (Economics Track), with a disciplinary focus on labor economics, environmental economics, and urban economics and is a HEEP PreDoctoral Fellow. She received her Master in Public Administration from the University of Washington (2015). Eleanor received dual bachelor degrees from the University of Vermont (2012) – a BA in Political Science and a BS, summa cum laude, in Environmental Studies. Among other research appointments, she was a Senior Research Assistant in Economic Studies at The Brookings Institution (2016 – 2018) and a Research Consultant for the U.S. Climate Initiative at the World Resources Institute (2015 – 2016). Among her publications and working papers is “Achieving U.S. emissions targets with a carbon tax” (with Noah Kauffman; World Resources Institute, 2018).
Kristen McCormack will receive her Ph.D. in Public Policy (Economics Track) in May 2023. She has a disciplinary focus on environmental economics, public economics, and labor economics and is a HEEP Pre-Doctoral Fellow. Kristen holds a bachelor’s degree in economics, summa cum laude, from Pomona College. Prior to beginning her Ph.D., Kristen was a Research Assistant at Resources for the Future (RFF). She has published papers in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, RAND Journal of Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Law Reporter, and the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Kristen will be working as an Economist with the U.S. Department of the Treasury beginning in the summer of 2023.
Yomna Mohie Eldin will receive her Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA-ID) in May 2023. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration, with a Finance Concentration, from The American University in Cairo in 2018. She was an Economic Analyst in the Money and Capital Markets Department of the Central Bank of Egypt, 2019 – 2021. Yomna has held a number of research assistantships and fellowships at Harvard Kennedy School, addressing macroeconomic and financial issues. As a Research Assistant in Harvard Kennedy School, she worked on analyzing sovereign default episodes in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a Research Fellow in the Finance for Development Lab in the Paris School of Economics, she led research efforts on the potential of climate-for-debt swaps in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Antonio Pompa will receive his Master in Public Administration in International Development (MPA-ID) in May 2023. He received a Master in Economics from El Colegio de México in 2014 and a Bachelor of Economics from Universidad Panamericana, also in Mexico City, in 2010. He was Deputy Director of Economic Research for the National Development Bank of Mexico (FIRA) (2018 – 2021) and Head of the Office of Financial Research in Banco de México (Mexican Central Bank) (2015 – 2018). Antonio was a Fox International Fellow at Yale University in 2014 – 2015, studying central banking transparency and accountability in Latin America.
Lucas Woodley will receive his B.A. from Harvard College in May 2023, with a dual concentration in Psychology and Economics. He is a John Harvard Scholar (top 5% of graduating class) and has received grants from – among others – the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Lucas also received, in 2022, the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, having been a teaching assistant in “Introduction to Econometrics” and “Perspectives on Climate Change.” He has a number of manuscripts under review or in preparation for academic journals. Lucas has held several research assistantships at Harvard, including on behavioral aspects of EV use at the Harvard Law School Center for Labor and a Just Economy. He was a Research Assistant at the R Street Institute in 2021 – 2022.
Yi Wu will receive his Master in Public Policy from HKS in May 2023. He received his B.A. in Political Science and Legal Studies with distinction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2019. Previously, Yi worked in multiple UN organizations, focusing on the nexus of international peace and development. He has spent time in Rwanda and Guinea. At Harvard Kennedy School, Yi has worked on a couple of research projects, including a case study of Kenya’s welfare program with the Center for International Development and an analysis of green-ammoniadevelopment potentials with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
About the sponsors and the prizes:
The Enel Endowment for Environmental Economics at Harvard University was established in February 2007 through a generous capital gift from Enel, a multinational energy company and one of the world’s leading developers and operators of renewable power systems.
HEEP is based in the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School. The Center’s mission is to advance the state of knowledge and policy analysis concerning some of society’s most challenging problems at the interface of the public and private sectors.
Ana Aguado, for whom the doctoral prize is named, was a leader in European energy policy and business communities for twenty years, before passing away in October 2016. She was Secretary General of the European Distribution System Operators’ Association for Smart Grids from 2014 to 2016. Before holding that post, Ms. Aguado was Chief Executive Officer of Friends of the Supergrid, dedicated to building an integrated power grid in Europe.
For more information, please contact Jason Chapman, HEEP Associate Director: