Expertise

Topics:  Energy Economics, Public Policy, Business and Economics, Energy, Environmental Economics

Industries: Writing and Editing, Business Services, Education/Learning, Research

Karen Clay is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy.

She holds courtesy appointments at the Tepper School of Business and in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy, is a Senior Fellow at the Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon, is an affiliated faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Law, and is a research associate at the NBER.

Professor Clay's research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Sloan Foundation. Her work has been published in the Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economics and Statistics, and American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings. Before coming to Carnegie Mellon, Karen Clay was an assistant professor at the University of Toronto.

Media Experience

US neighborhoods with more people of color suffer worse air pollution  — The Guardian
"A 2021 study led by Karen Clay of Carnegie Mellon University suggested that factors including more frequent wildfires and an increase in the number of miles American vehicles travel have already begun to reverse the progress the US has made in cutting its air pollution."

In Illinois, a Model for a Just Transition From Coal to Solar  — Earth Island Journal
Karen Clay, a professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, believes the shift from polluting power production to renewable energy was a long time coming. Like all economists, Clay also looks at the cost-benefit analysis. Although keeping fossil fuels might save jobs, “the jobs don’t come for free,” she says. The tradeoff is loss of life.

Keystone XL’s Death Sparks Rush to Ship Oil-Sands by Rail  — Bloomberg
U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline is sparking renewed interest in shipping Canadian oil-sands crude by rail, and that comes with its own environmental risks.

America’s Air Is Getting Worse: Here’s Why  — Forbes
After decades of improving air quality, Carnegie Mellon researchers found that pollution levels are rising across America. A key driver has been the Trump Administration’s all-out assault on environmental regulations. Since taking office, Trump has eliminated or announced plans to eliminate nearly 100 different regulations.

As millions lose insurance, states cut Medicaid in response to the coronavirus crisis  — Salon
Karen Clay, professor of economics and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz College and the lead author of the study, told Salon that the cuts would impact Americans that are not on Medicaid as well.

Study: US air pollution deaths increased by 9,700 a year from 2016 to 2018  — Vox
The researchers, Karen Clay and Nicholas Muller, argue that some of the increase is due to non-regulatory factors, like an increase in wildfires and economic growth. But they note a decline in Clean Air Act enforcement under Donald Trump that could be responsible as well.