Steven C. Hackett

Infobox_Scientist
name = Steven C. Hackett


birth_place = United States of America
residence = US
field = Economist
work_institution = Humboldt State University
ICF International
alma_mater = Texas A&M University Ph.D 1989
Texas A&M University MS 1986
Montana State University BS 1983

Professor Steven C. Hackett's educational background includes a Bachelor of Science (1983) in Agricultural Business from Montana State University, and a Master of Science (1986) and a Ph.D. (1989) in Economics from Texas A&M University. He began his career at the rank of Assistant Professor at Indiana University in Bloomington in 1989. He currently holds the rank of Professor of Economics at Humboldt State University (HSU), and served as the department's chairperson between 2004 and 2006.

Early in his career Hackett's research was focused on the economic performance of contractual relationships, such as the social dilemmas associated with common-pool resources like oil and gas fields, groundwater basins or marine fisheries. Self-interested or opportunistic behavior in these circumstances can result in inferior economic outcomes. He was particularly interested in the challenges of structuring successful agreements capable of preventing opportunistic behavior when stakeholders are heterogeneous, or have made prior relationship-specific investments. His research approaches involved developing theoretical models and evaluating testable hypotheses through the use of laboratory experimental methods. Another line of his research involved the use of economic modeling approaches to understand the political economy of environmental regulation. In several papers Hackett and collaborators investigated how voluntary actions by firms to limit pollution can have strategic value relative to competitors, or as a way of shaping future regulatory policy. In another line of research Hackett and colleagues developed a model for the partial deregulation of critical energy markets, such as for natural gas, and identified some of the hazards associated with applying that model to electricity deregulation. Hackett's curiosity about contracting problems also resulted in papers on diverse topics such as revenue-sharing problems in medical group practices, and factors that influence foreign direct investment decisions by multinational firms. More recently Hackett has worked collaboratively on a number of projects addressing marine fishery economics and policy. In various projects he has analyzed California’s wetfish industry complex, California’s Dungeness crab fishery and processing sector, and is currently investigating the broader structure and economic impacts of California’s commercial fisheries. Hackett has also returned to energy economics, with a focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Hackett's advocacy for environmental taxes to resolve negative externalities qualifies him for the Pigou Club.

Dr. Hackett has published in a variety of scholarly journals and edited volumes, including The Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Economic Inquiry, Japan and the World Economy, the Journal of Theoretical Politics, the International Journal of the Economics of Business, The Encyclopedia of Globalization, Water: Science and Issues, Conservation Biology, California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations Reports, Marine Resource Economics, and California Agriculture. His research on California's Dungeness crab fishery (in collaboration with colleagues at HSU and at UC Davis) received the 2005 gold award for best refereed journal article by the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals. He is author of the textbook Environmental and Natural Resources Economics: Theory, Policy and the Sustainable Society 3rd edition (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2006), which has been adopted at colleges and universities in the US and abroad. His research has been supported by extramural grants and contracts from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, NOAA Fisheries, the California Sea Grant Program, the California Integrated Waste Management Board, the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Seafood Council, the HSU Foundation, and the Institute of the North Coast. In recognition of his research into regional economic issues, and what HSU President Rollin Richmond described as "the clarity and significance his work brings to global questions of environmental economics," Hackett was selected as Humboldt State University's Scholar of the Year for 2005.

Dr. Hackett has also been active in regional economic development, and in the technical economic analysis underlying environmental impact statements (EIS's). Examples of the latter include his work on NHTSA's EIS for higher corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) standards, and the USDA's EIS for genetically engineered alfalfa.

elected Literature

* Hackett, S., D. King, M. Hansen, and E. Price. “The Economic Structure of California’s Commercial Fisheries.” Technical Report under Contract P0670015, California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA. 2009 (forthcoming).
* Hackett, S., and M. Hansen. “Cost and Revenue Characteristics of the Salmon Fisheries in California and Oregon.” Technical Report under Contract 8404-S-004, National Marine Fisheries Service, Washington, DC. 2008.
* Hackett, S. "Economic and Social Considerations for Wave Energy Development in California." In P. Nelson and L. Engeman (eds.) White Paper on the Potential Effects of Wave Energy Development in California. Oakland, CA: California State Coastal Conservancy, 2008 (forthcoming).
* Kellermann, J., M. Johnson, A. Stercho, and S. Hackett. "Ecological and Economic Services Provided by Birds on Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Farms," Conservation Biology, 22(6) 2008 (forthcoming).
* Hackett, S., Environmental and Natural Resources Economics: Theory, Policy, and the Sustainable Society, 3rd Edition (M.E. Sharpe, Publishers 2006).
* Hackett, S., D. Hankin, M. Krachey, and S. Brown. "Derby Fisheries, Individual Quotas, and Transition in the Fish Processing Industry," Marine Resource Economics, April 2005, 20, pp. 47-60.
* Dewees, C., K. Sortais, S. Hackett, M. Krachey, and D. Hankin. "Racing for Crabs: Costs and Management Options in Dungeness Crab Fishery," California Agriculture, October-December 2004, 58, pp. 186-93.
* Maxwell, J., T. Lyon and S. Hackett, "Self-Regulation and Social Welfare: The Political Economy of Corporate Environmentalism," Journal of Law and Economics October 2000, 43, pp. 583-618.
* Hackett, S., "Pollution-Controlling Innovation in Oligopolistic Industries: Some Comparisons Between Patent Races and Research Joint Ventures," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, November 1995, 29(3), pp. 339-356.
* Hackett, S., "Is Relational Exchange Possible in the Absence of Reputations and Repeated Contact?" Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, October 1994, 10, 360-89.
* Hackett, S., E. Schlager, and J. Walker, "The Role of Communication in Resolving Commons Dilemmas: Experimental Evidence with Heterogeneous Appropriators," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 1994, 27, 99-126.
* Lyon, T., and S. Hackett, "Bottlenecks and Governance Structures: Open Access and Long Term Contracting in Natural Gas," Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, October 1993, 9, 380-98.
* Hackett, S., "Incomplete Contracting: A Laboratory Experimental Analysis," Economic Inquiry, April 1993, 31, 274-97.
* Hackett, S., "Consignment Contracting," Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, February 1993, 20, 247-53.
* Hackett, S., "Heterogeneity and the Provision of Governance for Common-Pool Resources," Journal of Theoretical Politics, July 1992, 4, 325-42.

Links

* [http://www.humboldt.edu/~sh2 Steven Hackett's website (curriculum vitae, professional biography)]

* List of economists