Professional Affiliation

Arthur Thurnau Professor Emeritus of Environmental Policy, Gerald Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Expert Bio

Barry Rabe is a political scientist who examines the political feasibility and durability of climate and environmental policy in federal and multi-level systems of governments.  He has received four awards recognizing his research from the American Political Science Association as well as research honors from the National Academy of Public Administration, the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, and the Institute of Public Administration of Canada.  He is the author or co-author of six books, including CAN WE PRICE CARBON? (MIT, 2018), TRUMP, THE ADMINISTRATIVE PRESIDENCY, AND FEDERALISM (Brookings, 2020), and STATEHOUSE AND GREENHOUSE (Brookings, 2004).   Rabe is currently examining the politics of short-lived climate pollutants such as methane and hydrofluorocarbons and the linkages between climate and trade policies.  

Wilson Center Project

“The Political Feasibility and Policy Durability of Pricing Carbon”

Project Summary

Carbon pricing through either taxation or emissions trading has won wide support from a diverse set of economists.  However, this policy approach has proven difficult to adopt in many national and sub-national settings and many early efforts have collapsed.  This project will examine the factors that have enabled some governments to establish carbon pricing mechanisms and sustain them over time, placing particular emphasis on the role of alternative revenue uses to build constituency support.  The project will primarily focus on North American experience but also include findings from Europe and Asia.  It will also consider lessons from other areas of energy taxation, such as severance taxes applied to shale oil and gas development in the United States.

Major Publications

"Methane Emissions: Can the United States and China Find Common Ground?" (New Security Beat, June 2024)

"The Durability of Cap-and-Trade Policy," Governance (May 2015)

"Taxing Fracking: American Severance Taxation and Revenue Use in the Shale Era," Review of Policy Research (June 2015)

"Statehouse and Greenhouse: The Emerging Politics of American Climate Policy" (Brookings Institution Press, February 2004)