Carlos Chávez is a Professor (Profesor Titular) in the Facultad de Economía y Negocios at Universidad de Talca, Chile. He is an associated researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center for Aquaculture Research (INCAR), and a senior research fellow at the Environment for Development Initiative (EfD). He has a Master's (2000) from Georgetown University and holds a Ph.D. (2000) in Resource Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Research interests

Carlos’s research focuses on designing and evaluating environmental and natural resource policies. He is particularly interested in the use of economic tools for the analysis of enforcement and compliance of environmental policies, the links between pollution control and energy transitions and the proper management of natural resources in the developing world. Recently, his research has addressed the problems of managing and defending common pool natural resources, the private benefits or environmental policies to control urban air pollution, the vulnerability of Chilean salmon farming aquaculture to external stressors, the impacts of disease treatments on production costs of salmon farms in Chile, and the possibilities and challenges for the development of small-scale aquaculture in coastal communities.

Mentoring

Carlos has supervised 2 doctoral theses in economics, 22 master theses in economics and environmental and natural resource economics, and more than 30 undergraduate theses in economics. He has also participated in several theses committees, including Ph.D. in economics and agricultural and resource economics, master’s in economics and environmental and natural resource economics, and B.S. in economics.

Collaborative research initiatives

Associate Researcher, Interdisciplinary Center for Aquaculture Research-INCAR, Research Program 5 (RP-5-Socioeconomic Sustainability), Fondap Program-ANID-FONDAP-15110027. First round +Second round + bridge program, 2012-2023, + bridge program, 2024-2025.
Associate Researcher at the Sustainable Energy Transition Initiative-EfD Collaborative Program.
Associate Researcher at Policy Instruments for Sustainable Management of Oceans and Marine Resources Program (Marine Program), and Blue Resources for Development Collaborative Program.
Associate Researcher and Center Director, Research Nucleus in Environmental and Resource Economics, Millenium Science Initiative, Ministry of Economics, Development and Tourism, RS 130001, Government of Chile. First + Second round, 2012-2017.

Last research projects

2024-2025 Project EfD-MS-1504: “Climate Change Feedback Effects on Payments for Ecosystem Service Contract Adherence”. Researcher. PI: Martine Visser, University of Cape Town; Arnab Mitra, University of Portland, and Sahan Dissanayake, University of Portland.
2023-2027 Project Fondecyt 1230266-ANID Chile: “The Endogenous Formation of Common Pool Resource Coalitions under Uncertainty and Exclusion”. PI. Co-PI: James Murphy, University of Alaska-Anchorage, John Stranlund, University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
2022-2024 Project EfD-MS-1205: “Assessing Global Aquaculture Production Systems”. Collaborator Researcher. PI: Jorge Marco, Universidad de Los Andes-Colombia. With the participation of a team of researchers from several EfD centers.
2022-2023 Project ANID-Concurso Fondo de Investigación Estratégica en Sequía 2021: “Risk analysis as a tool for the prioritization of Secondary Environmental Quality Standards in the main tributary rivers to the fjord system of Northwestern Patagonia, under hydrological drought scenarios”. Co-Principal Researcher. (PR and Director: Jorge León Muñoz, Universidad Católica de La Santísima Concepción, Co-PR and Co-Director: Carlos Lara, Universidad Católica de La Santísima Concepción, Co-PR Doris Soto, INCAR, Co-PR Brian Reid, CIEP, and a team of Research Associates.
2020-2022 Project ANII-Uruguay-Fondo Clemente Estable-Investigación Fundamental: “Efectividad de incentivos económicos vs mecanismos para motivar la conducta pro-social en la internalización de externalidades. Una comparación usando experimentos económicos de laboratorio”. Co-PI. (PI: Marcelo Caffera, Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Montevideo, International Cooperation: James Murphy, University of Alaska-Anchorage).
2020-2021 Project EfD-MS-823: “Evaluating Environmental Policies. The Impacts of Stove Programs in Urban Households of Central-Southern Chile”. PI. Co-PI: Randall Bluffstone, Portland State University, Marcela Jaime, Universidad de Concepción, Walter Gómez, Universidad de La Frontera, Adolfo Uribe, Doctoral Student, Universidad de Talca.
2018-2019 Project “Small scale aquaculture as a livelihood alternative with marine conservation benefits in coastal communities in Chile”. Co-PI. (PI Jorge Dresdner, Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Concepción, Co-PI Jo Albers, Department of Economics and Finance, University of Wyoming).
2014-2018 Proyecto FONDECYT 1140502, “Field Experiments on Cooperative Management of Local Common Resources”. PI. International cooperation: John Stranlund, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and Jim Murphy, University of Alaska-Anchorage.
2016-2017 Project Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF)-Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina, “Studying Fuel Choices for Residential Heating and Cooking in Urban Areas of Central-Southern Chile: The Role of Income, Prices, Households Preferences and the Availability of Energy Sources and Technology”. Co-PI. (PI: Marcela Jaime, Co-PI-Walter Gómez.

Policy engagement

Member of the Regional Environmental Consultancy Council, Ministry of Environment, Government of Chile, Región del Maule, Chile: 2022-2024.
A designated member in the representation of Chile at the Review Panel in the field of fisheries at the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation. Since August 2020.
Member High Council of Science, Fondo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología-FONDECYT-Chile. (Appointed by the President of the Republic of Chile, the term: December 2013-December 2016).
President High Council of Science, Fondo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología-FONDECYT-Chile. (Elected for the period January 2015-January 2016).
Member Presidential Comision for a National Policy of Lithium, 2014. Appointed by the President of the Republic of Chile

Academic Service

Member of the Evaluation Group - Economics, FONDECYT Program-Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, Government of Chile, ANID-Chile. 2023-2024.
Member of the High Advisory Panel for the Galapagos Fisheries Think Tank at the Fundación Charles Darwin, Galapagos (since May 2023).
Co-Editor of the journal Environment and Development Economics (2020-2024).
Associated Editor of the journal Aquaculture Economics & Management (since 2022).
Elected member of the Executive Committee of The International Institute of Fisheries Economics & Trade (IIFET) for the term 2022-2026.

Awards, Honours and Scholarships

Policy Impact Award-EfD, as a member of the EfD Chile team: Jorge Dresdner, Carlos Chávez, Miguel Quiroga, and César Salazar. 16th EfD Annual Meeting, Kampala, Uganda.
Graduate School Fellowship, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 1998-2000.
Carolyn Harper Award-1997, for “academic achievement, concern for social and environmental issues, and the importance of social diversity”. Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Fulbright Scholar-1996-1998, Fulbright Faculty Training Program for Latinoamerican Universities to postgraduate studies.
Konrad Adenauer Foundation Scholarship 1989-1991, for postgraduate studies. Institution: ILADES/Georgetown University, Santiago Chile.

Publications

Environmental, economic, and social sustainability in aquaculture: the aquaculture performance indicators

Is energy the golden thread? A systematic review of the impacts of modern and traditional energy use in low- and middle-income countries

Private benefits from ambient air pollution reduction policies: Evidence from the household heating stove replacement program in Chile

Assessing the aquaculture performance indicators (APIs) – Evidence from aquaculture production systems in Chile

The endogenous formation of common pool resource coalitions

People | 6 September 2013