His work focuses on the economics of regulation, particularly with respect to environmental and urban policy. His ongoing research examines household location decisions of place of work and residence and their effects on emissions from home electricity usage as well as from commuting using personal vehicles. The link between these sectors has important implications for the design of cities and for understanding the full effects of policies targeting housing or transportation. Waxman has also studied real-time pricing of congested freeways in Los Angeles and has explored how public transportation capacity in cities affects the welfare of high- and low-skilled workers.