Collegium Helveticum
Switzerland
fellow
Wolfram Schlenker
2022-2023
Home institution
Harvard University, US
Country of origin (home institution)
United States
Discipline(s)
Earth, environmental and climate sciences; Economy and finance
Theme(s)
Energy & Renewable Resources; Environment, Sustainability & Biodiversity
Fellowship dates
›
Biography
Wolfram Schlenker is Goldberg Professor of the Global Food System at Harvard University (US). His research focuses on empirical economic studies. In the past, Wolfram has studied the effect of weather and climate on agricultural yields, how climate trends influence agricultural commodity prices, and how pollution impacts both agricultural yields and human morbidity.
As a senior fellow at the Collegium, Wolfram examined how institutional settings such as property rights affect agricultural productivity as well as the role of technological innovation in environmental and climate policy.
Research Project
The Role of Technological Innovation in Environmental and Climate Policy: How Can the Energy Transition Succeed?
Technological innovations have been a key solution to many environmental problems. For example, scrubbers have greatly reduced harmful air emissions. At the same time, reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a level that keeps warming within the Paris Agreement requires drastic cuts to emissions and a fundamental transition to a decarbonized economy.
This workshop brings together economists and practitioners working on new technological innovation to discuss what settings are most conducive to achieve technological breakthroughs. Topics include financing of the energy transition, green innovation policies, knowledge spillovers from clean to polluting firms, as well as specific examples of large-scale solar installations and a move to a circular economy where wastes are reused as resources.
Research Interests:
environmental problems; energy transition; green innovation policies; economy