Steve Cicala’s work focuses on the economics of regulation, particularly with respect to environmental and energy policy. His ongoing research compares the performance of markets against command-and-control systems in the context of wholesale electricity markets. His recent paper, “When Does Regulation Distort Costs? Lessons from Fuel Procurement in U.S. Electricity Generation” is forthcoming in The American Economic Review.
Cicala received an AB in economics and political science from the University of Chicago and a PhD in economics from Harvard University. Following receipt of his undergraduate degree, he spent two years as a research associate at the Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory. While at Harvard, he was awarded the Enel Endowment Prize for the best environmental economics paper by a doctoral student.