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Ron Shadbegian

Appalachian State University, USA

I’m excited to be contributing to the IZA World of Labor project. I believe that both policymakers and academics will find the state-of-the-art research summarized by the World of Labor authors to be very useful for their own work.

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Research Affiliate, Appalachian State University, Department of Economics

Research interest

How environmental regulations affect the US manufacturing and power sectors; how lead exposure affects children's health and cognitive development.

Website

https://economics.appstate.edu/directory/dr-ron-shadbegian

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Senior Economist for Energy and Environment, Council of Economic Advisers, Executive Office of the President, Washington, DC 2013-2014

Past positions

Senior Research Economist, US E.P.A., National Center for Environmental Economics 2008-2015; 2017-2019; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University, Department of Economics and McCourt School of Public Policy 2010-2019; Professor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Department of Economics 1993-2008

Qualifications

PhD Clark University, 1991

Selected publications

  • “How Effective Are Secondary Interventions at Improving Health Outcomes In Children Exposed to Lead in Early Childhood?” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 18:2 (2024): 261-278 (with L. Bui, H. Klemick, D. Guignet, R. Margolit, and A. Hoang).

  • “The Effect of Environmental Regulation on Power Sector Employment: Phase I of the Title IV SO2 Trading Program.” Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 1:4 (2014): 521-553 (with A.Ferris and A.Wolverton).

  • “Do EPA Regulations Affect Labor Demand? Evidence from the Pulp and Paper Industry.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 68:1 (2014): 188-202 (with W. Gray, C. Wang, and M. Meral).

  • “Do Environmental Regulations Disproportionately Affect Small Business? Evidence from the Pollution Abatement Costs and Expenditures Survey.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 66:3 (2013): 523-538 (with R. Becker and C. Pasurka)..

  • “Plant Vintage, Technology, and Environmental Regulation.” .Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 46:3 (2003): 384-402 (with W. Gray).

article(s)

  • Environmental regulations and business decisions Updated

    Environmental regulations impose costs on firms, affecting productivity and location but providing significant health benefits

    Wayne B. GrayRon Shadbegian, April 2025
    Environmental regulations raise production costs at regulated firms, though in most cases the costs are only a small fraction of a firm’s total costs. Productivity tends to fall, and firms may shift new investment and production to locations with less stringent regulation. However, environmental regulations have had enormous benefits in terms of lives saved and illnesses averted, especially through reductions in airborne particulates. The potential health gains may be even greater in developing countries, where pollution levels are high. The benefits to society from environmental regulation hence appear to be much larger than the costs of compliance.
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