Spencer Banzhaf

Senior Fellow

Spencer Banzhaf is a PERC senior fellow and director of the Center for Environmental and Resource Economic Policy at North Carolina State University. He holds both a B.A. and a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University. Spencer’s primary field of study is environmental policy analysis, specializing in issues related to land use and the protection of environmental amenities and recreational opportunities. His research has appeared in such top-tier academic journals as the American Economic Review, History of Political Economy, and Journal of Political Economy.

Articles by Spencer Banzhaf

A Debate as Old as Economics

Spencer Banzhaf

What the birth of free-market economics can teach us about today's natural resource policies.

Daylight-Saving Time Is Past Its Prime

Saturday night marks the end of daylight-saving time for 2012. Time for those clocks to “fall back” an hour to standard time, when the sun…

The Political Economy of Environmental Justice

Spencer Banzhaf

In the first book-length examination of environmental justice from the perspective of economics, a cast of top contributors evaluates why underprivileged citizens are overexposed to toxic environments and what policy can do to help.

The Case for Cap-And-Trade

Spencer Banzhaf

Banzhaf argues that free market environmentalists should applaud the cap-and-trade approach over more government regulation.

FME: Exploring the Tough Questions

Young scholars from various discipline challenge the PERC founders of free market environmentalism on what works, what could work in the future and how to address large scale problems such as climate change, and also when markets are not the so. They will also discuss situations where markets might not work best or might not work at all.

And Environmental Justice For All But Liberty Comes First

Spencer Banzhaf

In 1982, some 450 activists were arrested protesting the construction of a hazardous waste facility in Warren County, N.C., a primarily poor, black community.

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