Natural Resource Economics

Welcome to the Morgan State University PEARL Natural Resource Economics Center homepage! The mission of research economists at the PEARL Natural Resource Economics Center is to produce the applied economics research needed to guide the development of natural resource management policies that will produce sustainable environmental outcomes in Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and beyond. PEARL research economists have expertise in a wide variety of natural resource economics fields. Specific areas of expertise include using revealed and stated choice behavior to estimate the economic value of environmental goods and services not traded in the marketplace, and using economic impact analysis to examine how key regional economic factors such as jobs, business revenue, and personal wages are affected by factors such as an increase in tourism expenditures. PEARL research economists apply expertise with survey development and implementation to obtain the data necessary to address these and other policy-relevant research questions. Examples of current projects includes estimating the potential economic impacts of offshore wind farms to the Maryland charter fishing industry, and estimating the economic benefits of oyster reef restoration in Maryland.

PEARL Natural Resource Economics Center Researcher:
Dr. Scott Knoche