Petroleum and Energy Economics

CASADE Fellows have deep and extensive experience in petroleum and energy economics. Some have served as executives in oil drilling and refinery companies, and others have served as economists retained by national governments and electricity generating firms for a variety of studies on rate designs, energy conservation strategies, efficient distribution of electricity to consumers, and regulatory policies on fuel subsidies, and environmental and health consequences of gas flaring. Studies by Fellows have informed policies that led to increased investment in the electricity sector, and the alignment of such new investments to other development goals such as universal access to energy in host countries. They have also given expert advice in these areas of specialty to international funding agencies such as the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank, and the IMF.

Natural Resource use in Development Economics

CASADE economists are experts on natural resource economics, and on how countries richly endowed by nature can profitably exploit them for economic development and poverty reduction. In this regard, the conventional areas of research include resource extraction, non-market evaluation of a natural resource, resource exhaustibility and sustainable use, environmental impact of extractive activities, agricultural and urban land use, and the application of methodological advances in non-market evaluation of externalities inherent in natural resource extraction. Our experts have consulted for countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Egypt, and have worked closely with the World Bank, the IMF and WTO in assessment and feasibility studies.

Environmental Impact Assessment And Policy recommendations

CASADE Fellows are adept at using multidisciplinary approaches in assessing direct and indirect cost and benefits to the environment by private sector activities, and public sector regulatory policies. Such assessments involve the use of methodologies such as contingent estimations and econometric modeling to analyze pollution reduction strategies, industrial and manufacturing activities, and environmental regulatory legislations. In all instances Fellows employ a multidisciplinary approach in these studies, and have helped in shaping current best practices in environmental protection, and carbon emission reduction. Some of our Fellows have provided expert guidance in this area to the United States’ government, the city of Chicago, Mexico, and the Niger Delta of Nigeria.

Urban And Regional Economics – Planning, Zoning, and Housing

Our experts have conducted numerous urban economic studies that include local zoning laws, regional housing markets, and low-income housing in urban centers. Using demographic analysis and econometric models of regional and local economies, several of our Fellows have researched and issued reports on the effects of existing tax policies on regional labor markets, their impact on investments in the private sector, and industrial productivity. They have also assisted various regional and state agencies in developing countries in projects involving land use planning, urban design, transportation planning, strategic location of industrial parks, and agricultural preservation. Our experts have deep and broad experience in Urban and Regional Economics and have offered expert testimonies to the United States’ Congress on regional and local impacts of current and proposed policies on transportation, and housing.

Public Policy Analysis

CASADE Fellows have provided expert advice on the efficacy of regulatory provisions and tax policies to state governments in Nigeria, South Korea, China, and to the states of Wisconsin, and Illinois in the United States. In the various projects embarked upon, governmental agencies and ministries received documentary evidence of economic, social and environmental impact of existing or proposed policies. In many instances inter-regional studies of the effects of policy changes on commerce, industrial productivity, retail trade, and tax revenue. In the case of Nigeria, states were given best practice procedures in the use of mobile clinics to deliver healthcare services to towns and localities outside urban centers. For the state of Wisconsin Tax Incidence Study, the state’s Department of Finance commissioned a study on which groups, entities and individuals bore more significantly the burden of state and local taxes.

Development of Econometric Input-Output Models for National And Regional Economies used for impact studies

CASADE Fellows have used established econometric modeling techniques to build national and regional Input-Output models for federal and state governments in emerging economies. Because of their versatility, I-O models have been used by CASADE Fellows to measure impacts of events, and to identify economically related industry clusters, and productive units most likely to enhance internal coherence in a specific economic zone. By using a broad and inclusive model, our analysts have successfully used it as a general equilibrium tool to capture the interdependencies in markets and sectors and show that different agents in an economy depend on various productive units within the economy at different stages and degrees. For instance, a specific variant of this model called Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model was used in Brazil by CASADE Fellows to estimate the effects of tariffs and trade policies on domestic prices, and import substitution effects. Similar technique was also used to link Input-Output models for different regions to investigate the effects of inter-regional trade in South Africa.

Other significant areas where Fellows have extensive background and expertise include:

  1. National Security
  2. Strategic Industrialization Policies for Effective Development in Emerging Markets
  3. Human Rights’ Implications of Public Policies, and Private Sector Practices
  4. Monetary Economics, and Banking Regulations
  5. International Law And Relations
  6. Anti-Corruption Policy Programs and Implementation
  7. Guidance on Higher Education Systems and Effective Evaluation Programs