The program has been active at Ohio State for more than 50 years with roots in agricultural and land economics.
Faculty currently work in both domestic and international arenas.
Research often focuses on the costs and benefits of such critical conflicts as water quality, recreational land and water use, erosion control, rainforest use and preservation, invasive species, waste disposal, industrial land use, and pollution-related issues. From this research base, Environmental economists can provide relevant information to policy decisions and debates on environmental issues. Their work may include estimating the benefits and costs of alternative policies, describing how environmental impacts affect economic systems, and assessing the economic performance of alternative policies. This group also trains public and private experts to do a better job of calculating total costs and benefits of activities involving natural resources. Our environmental economics group is widely published and cited.