Christopher Knittel

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Christopher Knittel

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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.

http://knittel.world 

 

Honors

Knittel earns Professor of the Year Award

June 14, 2024

Knittel wins IJIO award

December 1, 2020

Publications

"Using Machine Learning to Target Treatment: The Case of Household Energy Use."

Knittel, Christopher R., and Samuel Stolper. The Economic Journal. Forthcoming. NBER Working Paper.

"US Federal Resource Allocations are Inconsistent with Concentrations of Energy Poverty."

Batlle, Carlos, Peter Heller, Christopher R. Knittel, and Tim Schittekatte. Science Advances Vol. 10, No. 41 (2024): 1-10. Download Paper.

"Can Federal Grid Reforms Solve the Interconnection Problem?"

Armstrong, Les, Alexa Canaan, Christopher R. Knittel, Gilbert Metcalf, and Tim Schittekatte. Science Vol. 385, No. 6704 (2024): 31-33.

"Assessing the Distribution of Employment Vulnerability to the Energy Transition Using Employment Carbon Footprints."

Graham, Kailin and Christopher Knittel. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol. 121, No. 7 (2024).

"Designing Climate Policy Mixes: Analytical and Energy System Modeling Approaches."

Dimanchev, Emil and Christopher R. Knittel. Energy Economics Vol. 122, (2023): 106697. SSRN Preprint.

"An Economic Analysis of the Self-Preferencing Debate."

Caminade, Juliette, Juan Carvajal, and Christopher R. Knittel. Competition Vol. 32, No. 2 (2022): 30-43.

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Recent Insights

Ideas Made to Matter

3 things to know about the next 4 years of US energy

Climate policy expert Christopher Knittel handicaps the likelihood of tariffs, cuts to IRA subsidies, and a carbon tax under the new administration.

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Ideas Made to Matter

‘Energy poverty’ hits US residents more in the South and Southwest

The LIHEAP formula for calculating energy aid was written in the 1980s. Researchers propose a solution that recognizes the cost of cooling a warming south.

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Media Highlights

Press WBUR

As federal tax credits for EVs end, experts worry about Mass. climate goals

In 2023, research by Christopher Knittel, associate dean for climate and sustainability, and co-authors projected that federal tax credits, combined with efforts to install charging stations on highways nationwide, would increase EV adoption by 18% through the end of the decade. "Those are customers that are buying it because the tax credit exists, and if you pull it away, they're gonna go back to the internal combustion engine vehicle," Knittel said.

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Press The Hill

Energy secretary says he worries most about high electricity bills

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Tuesday that rising electricity prices are what he "worries about most" as Americans face high power bills. A recent consumer price index report found electricity prices were growing at more than double the rate of inflation. "Residential retail electricity prices are set with basically a lag," said Christopher Knittel, associate dean for climate and sustainability. "Trump's effects on the rate changes won't take place until after the midterms."

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Press WBUR

Why a new gas pipeline into New England may (or may not) lower energy bills

Looming over the debate over a new gas pipeline is the cost of continuing to emit planet-warming emissions. Though not directly factored into monthly energy bills, there is a steep cost to climate change, said Christopher Knittel, associate dean for climate and sustainability. "Building a pipeline is almost surely going to lead to more greenhouse gas emissions. And that's the unpriced externality here," he said.

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Press ESG Dive

Data center flexibility can save money but may come with higher emissions

Data centers with the capability to shift workloads to different times can avoid stressing the electric grid and save consumers money — but the shifts may increase power plant emissions in some markets, according to new research co-authored by associate dean for climate and sustainability Christopher Knittel. "Our report underscores the urgency of rethinking grid management and operating data centers more flexibly — especially when it comes to AI training," he said.

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