RICHARD MCDOWELL

rmcdowel@mit.edu

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

OFFICE CONTACT INFORMATION
MIT Department of Economics
77 Massachusetts Avenue, E19-750
Cambridge, MA 02139

HOME CONTACT INFORMATION

5 Lawrence Dr. Apt. 101
Princeton, NJ 08540
Mobile: 610-572-3803

610-572-3803
rmcdowel@mit.edu
http://economics.mit.edu/grad/rmcdowel
MIT PLACEMENT OFFICER
Professor Esther Duflo
eduflo@mit.edu
617-258-7013

MIT PLACEMENT ADMINISTRATORS

Ms. Eva Konomi
evako@mit.edu
617-253-8787
Mr. Thomas Dattilo dattilo@mit.edu
617-324-5857

DOCTORAL
STUDIES

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

PhD, Economics, Expected completion June 2016
DISSERTATION: Essays on the Economics of Renewable Energy
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE AND REFERENCES
Professor Michael Greenstone
University of Chicago
Department of Economics
1126 E. 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
773-702-8250
mgreenst@uchicago.edu

Professor Amy Finkelstein

MIT Department of Economics
77 Massachusetts Avenue, E17-228
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-4149
afink@mit.edu

Professor Christopher Knittel

MIT Sloan School of Management
100 Main Street, E62-520
Cambridge, MA 02142
617-324-0015
knittel@mit.edu
PRIOR
EDUCATION

BA in Economics and Mathematics

Williams College

CITIZENSHIP

USA

FIELDS

Primary Fields: Energy and Environment, Public Finance

GENDER:

Secondary Fields: Industrial Organization

Male

2009

RICHARD MCDOWELL
OCTOBER 2015 -- PAGE 2

TEACHING
EXPERIENCE

Public Finance and Public Policy (Undergraduate), MIT

Teaching Assistant to Professor Jonathan Gruber
J-PAL Executive Education Course
Teaching Assistant
Econometrics (Undergraduate), Williams College
Teaching Assistant to Professors Kenneth Kuttner and Lara
Shore-Sheppard.
Introductory Statistics (Undergraduate), Williams College
Teaching Assistant to Professor Bernhard Klingenberg

Fall 2013
2010-2011,
2013
2008-2009

2007

RELEVANT
POSITIONS

Research Assistant to Michael Greenstone, MIT

Research Analyst, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

2013-2014
2009-2012

FELLOWSHIPS,
HONORS, AND
AWARDS

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship

Total-MIT Energy Fellow
Phi Beta Kappa
William W. Kleinhandler Prize for Excellence in Music

2011-2016
2014-2015
2009
2009

PROFESSIONAL
ACTIVITIES

Referee for Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource

Economists

RESEARCH
PAPERS

Learning by Doing and Spillovers in Renewable Generation: Evidence

From U.S. Wind and Solar Farms (Job Market Paper)
Learning by doing is often cited as a rationale for subsidizing renewable
electricity, but there is relatively little project-level evidence on how knowledge
is accrued. Using detailed atmospheric data to account for potential output, we
study whether generation and installation experience lead to increased
productivity for solar and wind projects. We further assess the appropriability
of experience by considering the transfer of knowledge within and across firms.
Generation experience on a particular project leads to higher productivity at that
project but not at other sites. Installation experience leads to higher output on
subsequent projects, and exhibits spillovers across owners with proximate
installation sites for wind farms. This is consistent with other work suggesting
that renewable project developers benefit from accrued knowledge.

RESEARCH IN
PROGRESS

The Impact of Renewable Energy on Electricity Markets: Evidence

From State Renewable Portfolio Standards (with Michael Greenstone)
Renewable Portfolio Standards are one of the largest policies promoting clean
energy in the US. Despite their prevalence and scope, the cost-effectiveness of
these policies is currently poorly understood. Using panel data on program
characteristics, electricity prices, generation, and employment, we examine the
impact of these policies. Portfolio standards have been successful at increasing
regional renewable generation, with marginal compliance coming almost
entirely from wind energy. However, costs to consumers are large, with retail
electricity rates increasing by 9-15% five years after adoption. Based on our
estimates, the cost of carbon abatement from these programs is substantial, and
well above conventional estimates of the social cost.