Greer Prize Given to Shapiro

Joseph Shapiro, Assistant Professor of Economics, is one of two Yale junior faculty members to receive the 2017 Arthur Greer Memorial Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication or Research. Shapiro was recognized for his research in the area of social sciences and for his papers published in the American Economic Review and the Journal of Political Economy.

Commenting on Shapiro, Dirk Bergemann, Chair of the Department of Economics said, “He has excelled in every aspect of his academic career, from research to teaching.  His sharp intellect is evident in both the quality of his research and his seminar presentations, which display a depth and clarity of thought rarely seen at such early stage of career.”

An empirical environmental and energy economist whose research incorporates approaches from the economic fields of public finance and international trade, Shapiro’s work is concentrated in two areas: trade and the environment; and adaptation to environmental change. He has written on how trade affects climate change, on the benefits of cap-and-trade markets for air pollution, and on the changing effects of extreme weather on health.

“He is one of the few people who have managed to bridge the divide between the identification-focused empirical work in fields such as labor or public finance and the ambitious, but at times empirically elusive, general equilibrium approach in international trade or macroeconomics,” said Bergemann. ”His star has risen steadily.”

Shapiro received a B.A. from Stanford, Masters degrees from Oxford and LSE as a Marshall Scholar, and a Ph.D. in Economics from MIT before joining the Yale Economics Department in 2013.

The Greer prize was established in 1987 by alumni of the Book and Snake Society to honor Arthur Greer ‘26. One of Yale College’s highest honors, the prize carries an award of funding to support future research and is awarded annually to one or two junior faculty members from the natural or social sciences at Yale.

Associate Professor of Physics, David Poland, is the other 2017 Greer Prize winner.