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Career Description

Conduct economic analysis related to environmental protection and use of the natural environment, such as water, air, land, and renewable energy resources. Evaluate and quantify benefits, costs, incentives, and impacts of alternative options using economic principles and statistical techniques.

What Job Titles Environmental Economists Might Have

• Environmental Economist
• Natural Resource Economist
• Principal Associate
• Principal Research Economist

What Environmental Economists Do

• Write technical documents or academic articles to communicate study results or economic forecasts.
• Conduct research on economic and environmental topics, such as alternative fuel use, public and private land use, soil conservation, air and water pollution control, and endangered species protection.
• Assess the costs and benefits of various activities, policies, or regulations that affect the environment or natural resource stocks.
• Collect and analyze data to compare the environmental implications of economic policy or practice alternatives.
• Prepare and deliver presentations to communicate economic and environmental study results, to present policy recommendations, or to raise awareness of environmental consequences.
• Develop programs or policy recommendations to achieve environmental goals in cost-effective ways.
• Perform complex, dynamic, and integrated mathematical modeling of ecological, environmental, or economic systems.
• Write research proposals and grant applications to obtain private or public funding for environmental and economic studies.
• Conduct research to study the relationships among environmental problems and patterns of economic production and consumption.
• Write social, legal, or economic impact statements to inform decision-makers for natural resource policies, standards, or programs.
• Develop environmental research project plans, including information on budgets, goals, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements.
• Develop economic models, forecasts, or scenarios to predict future economic and environmental outcomes.
• Develop programs or policy recommendations to promote sustainability and sustainable development.
• Demonstrate or promote the economic benefits of sound environmental regulations.
• Develop systems for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting environmental and economic data.
• Examine the exhaustibility of natural resources or the long-term costs of environmental rehabilitation.

What Environmental Economists Should Be Good At

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Environmental Economists Should Be Interested In

• Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

What Environmental Economists Need to Learn

• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.