Faculty
Christopher Knittel is the Associate Dean for Climate and Sustainability, the George P. Shultz Professor and a Professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Prior to MIT Sloan, Knittel taught at the University of California, Davis, and at Boston University. His research focuses on industrial organization, environmental economics, and applied econometrics.
Knittel is an associate editor of The American Economic Journal— Economic Policy, The Journal of Industrial Economics, and the Journal of Energy Markets. His research has appeared in The American Economic Review, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Industrial Economics, The Energy Journal, and other academic journals. He also is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in the Productivity, Industrial Organization, and Energy and Environmental Economics groups.
Knittel holds a BA in economics and political science from California State University, Stanislaus; an MA in economics from the University of California, Davis; and a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Senga, Juan Ramon L., Audun Botterud, John E. Parsons, S. Drew Story, and Christopher R. Knittel. Nature Energy. Forthcoming.
Clausing, Kimberly A., Christopher R. Knittel, and Catherine Wolfram. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. Forthcoming.
Espiritu Argosino, Fischer J. and Christopher R. Knittel, Working Paper. December 2025.
Knittel, Christopher R., and Samuel Stolper. The Economic Journal Vol. 135, No. 672 (2025): 2377-2401. NBER Working Paper.
Knittel, Christopher R., Juan Ramon L. Senga, and Shen Wang, MIT Sloan Working Paper 7348-25. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, July 2025. NBER Working Paper No. 34065.
Knittel, Christopher R., Gilbert E. Metcalf, and Shereein Saraf, MIT Sloan Working Paper 7349-25. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, June 2025. NBER Working Paper No. 33894.
From insurance premiums to energy bills, a new study from MIT Sloan shows how Americans are already paying the price of climate change, and climate inaction, driven by extreme weather.
Here’s how aircraft noise at major airports in Boston, Chicago, and Seattle affected housing prices.
There are two reasons that gas prices could linger on the higher end, said Christopher Knittel, associate dean for climate and sustainability. One is the large amount of infrastructure in the Middle East that has been damaged or destroyed. The second is the uncertainty about whether sailing through the Strait of Hormuz is safe. "Basic economics tells us the riskier business is, the higher profits you have to earn to want to enter into that business," Knittel said. "Oil, gasoline, and natural gas have gotten more risky. That might actually keep us from ever getting back to prewar levels for gasoline," he added.
A paper by associate dean for climate and sustainability Christopher Knittel, professor Catherine Wolfram, and co-author found that climate change is already costing U.S. households between $400 and $900 a year, on average. "Even if you don't live in tornado alley, you might be seeing your insurance rates go up to cover the cost for people who are in the more danger-prone areas," said Wolfram.
According to Christopher Knittel, associate dean for climate and sustainability, prioritizing large-scale renewable energy sources can decrease the financial burden on households over time. "Energy generated by large-scale solar plants, for example, comes with lower transmission, distribution, and maintenance costs for utilities, and these efficiencies can be passed on to the consumer," he said.
Professor Christopher Knittel said that if rideshare wages increase, the money has to come from somewhere. "It can come from higher fares, smaller driver incentives, or lower platform profit margins," Knittel said.
