Jay Shimshack’s major fields are environmental regulation, environmental economics, corporate social behavior, and applied microeconomics for public policy. Specific research interests include the law and economics of environmental enforcement; environmental disparities; the choice of environmental policy instruments; the economics of corporate social responsibility and ESG issues; and the benefits and costs of environmental and health policies. Shimshack has made contributions to our understanding of environmental monitoring and enforcement, environmental justice, information and transparency as public policy, the distributional effects of environmental policy, corporate environmental behavior, the economics of food safety, and other topics.
Selected Working Papers:
“Environmental Citizen Complaints,” w/ J. Colmer and M.F. Evans. First version: January 2018. Current version: November 2023.
Selected Published Research:
“Costly sanctions and the treatment of frequent violators in regulatory settings,” w/ M. B. Ward. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM). Forthcoming (Published online September 2022): Article 102745.
“Environmental justice in urban Mexico: Evidence from toxic water pollution,” w/ L. Chakraborti. Resource and Energy Economics (Res Energy Econ). 67(February 2022): Article 101281. Preprint Working Paper.
“The Evolution of the ‘Waters of the United States’ and the Role of Economics,” w/ D. Keiser, S. Olmstead, K. Boyle, V. Flatt, B. Keeler, D. Phaneuf, and J. Shapiro. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy (REEP). 16:1 (Winter 2022): 146-152.
“Why are Pollution Damages Lower in Developed Countries? Insights from High-Income, High-Particulate Matter Hong Kong,” w/ J. Colmer, D. Lin, and S. Liu. Journal of Health Economics (JHE). 79 (September 2021): Article 102511. Preprint Working Paper.
“New water rule turns a blind eye to transboundary pollution: We can’t presume that states will fill gaps in federal oversight,” w/ D. Keiser, S. Olmstead, K. Boyle, V. Flatt, B. Keeler, C. Kling, and D. Phaneuf, J. Shapiro. Science (SCIENCE). 372(6539) (16April2021): 241-243.
“Hurricanes and Gasoline Price Gouging,” w/ T. Beatty and G. Lade. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economics (JAERE). 8(2) (March 2021): 347–374. Preprint Working Paper.
“Disparities in PM2.5 air pollution in the United States,” w/ J. Colmer, I. Hardman, and J. Voorheis. Science (SCIENCE). 369(6503) (31July2020): 575-578. Ungated, free version available here. Bulleted summary here. General audience companion piece here.
“Disaster preparedness and disaster response: Evidence from sales of emergency supplies before and after hurricanes,” w/ T. Beatty and R. Volpe. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economics (JAERE). 6(4) (July 2019): 633-668. Preprint Working Paper.
“Enforcement spillovers: Lessons from strategic interactions in regulation and product markets,” w/ M. Evans and S. Gilpatric. Journal of Law and Economics (J Law Econ). 61 (November 2018): 739-769. Preprint Working Paper.
“Valuing Marine Diversity in the Gulf of Mexico: Evidence from the Proposed Boundary Expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary,” w/ S. Stefanski. Marine Resource Economics (MRE). 31(2) (April 2016): 211-232. Preprint Working Paper.
“Environmental Disclosure: Evidence from Newsweek’s Green Companies Ranking,” w/ T. Lyon. Business and Society (BAS). 54(5) (September 2015): 632-675. Preprint Working Paper.
“Environmental Enforcement and Compliance: Lessons from Pollution, Safety, and Tax Settings,” w/James Alm. Foundations and Trends in Microeconomics (FnT). 10 (December 2014): 209-274. Preprint Working Paper.
“The Economics of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement: A Review,” Annual Review of Resource Economics (ARRE). 6 (October 2014): 339–60. Preprint Working Paper.
“Air Pollution and Children’s Health: a Cohort Analysis,” w/ Timothy Beatty. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM). 7(1) (January 2014): 39-57. Preprint Working Paper.
“Economic Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility,” w/ Markus Kitzmueller. Journal of Economic Literature (JEL). 50(1) (March 2012): 51-84. Preprint Working Paper.
"Absolute Humidity, Temperature, and Influenza Mortality: 30 Years of County-Level Evidence from the United States,” w/ Alan Barreca. American Journal of Epidemiology (AJE). 176 (2012): S114-S122. Preprint Working Paper.
“School Buses, Diesel Emissions, and Respiratory Health,” w/ Timothy Beatty. Journal of Health Economics (JHE) 30(5) (September 2011): 987-999. Preprint Working Paper.
“The Effectiveness of Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement: A Review of the Empirical Evidence,” w/ W, Gray. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy (REEP). 5(1) (Winter 2011): 3-24. Preprint Working Paper.
“Mercury Advisories and Household Health Trade-offs,” w/ M.B. Ward. Journal of Health Economics (JHE) 29(5) (September 2010): 674-685. Preprint Working Paper.
“The Impact of Climate Change Information: New Evidence from the Stock Market,” w/ Timothy Beatty. B.E. Journals Contributions to Economic Analysis and Policy (BEJEAP). 10:1 (2010): Article 105. Preprint Working Paper.
“Public & Private Enforcement: Substitutes or Complements?” w/ C. Langpap.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM) 59(3) (May 2010): 235-249. Preprint Working Paper.
“Mandatory Information Disclosure in the Electricity Industry,” w/ M. Delmas and M. Montes. Economic Inquiry (ECIN) 48(2) (April 2010): 483-498. Preprint Working Paper.
“Enforcement and Over-compliance,” with M.B. Ward. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM) 55(1) (January 2008): 90-105. Preprint Working Paper.
“Curbside Recycling in the Presence of Alternatives,” with T.K.M. Beatty and P. Berck. Economic Inquiry (ECIN) 45(4) (October 2007): 739-755. Preprint Working Paper.
"Mercury Advisories: Information, Education, and Fish Consumption,” with M.B. Ward and T.K.M. Beatty. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM) 53(2) (March 2007): 158-179. Preprint Working Paper.
“Regulator Reputation, Enforcement, and Environmental Compliance,” with M.B. Ward. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM) 50(3) (November 2005):519-540. Preprint Working Paper.
“The Effects of the Private-Label Invasion in Food Industries,” with M.B. Ward, J. M. Perloff, and J.M. Harris. American Journal of Agricultural Economics (AJAE) 84(4) (November 2002): 961-973. Preprint Working Paper.
Research Tips for Agricultural, Environmental, and Applied Economics:
“Practical Tips for Writing and Publishing Applied Economics Papers,” w/ T. Beatty.