Nicholas Muller
Lester and Judith Lave Professor in Economics, Engineering and Public Policy, Tepper School of Business
Nicholas Muller is the Lester and Judith Lave Professor of Economics, Engineering, and Public Policy, working at the intersection of environmental policy and economics. His interdisciplinary research projects focus on estimating individual discount rates and risk preferences using historical pricing data, comparing air pollution and climate damages from electric vehicles to conventional vehicles, estimating air pollution damage from energy production, measuring the impact of transporting freight in the United States on air pollution and climate, and analyzing the inequality in market and augmented measures of income. He teaches microeconomics and environmental and natural resource economics and has published papers in the American Economic Review, Science, and Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.
Valuation of Damage from Air Pollution and Green House Gases
Education
2007 Ph.D., Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Yale University
2002 MPA, Environmental Policy & Public Financial Administration, Indiana University
1996 BS, Public Policy, Planning, and Management, University of Oregon
Affiliations
Media mentions
Phys.org
Muller and Dennin quoted on fire smoke health risks
EPP’s Nicholas Muller and EPP Ph.D. student Luke Dennin were quoted in Phys.org on health risks associated with fire smoke.
Bloomberg Law
Muller quoted on lax air emission regulation
EPP’s Nicholas Muller was quoted in Bloomberg Law on the Trump administration’s pushback against the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
Engineering and Public Policy
Building an equitable, inclusive and prosperous future
A commitment to the pursuit of economic justice, and thereby to a sustainable future, is reflected in Carnegie Mellon University’s research, education and practice. From the classroom to the community, CMU’s students, faculty and staff are partnering to help economies thrive while fostering a healthy environment.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Muller quoted on the economic and health effects of air quality standard changes
EPP’s Nick Muller spoke with The Pittsburgh Post Gazette about the effects of the EPA changing the standards for acceptable air pollution levels.
Engineering and Public Policy
Muller awarded BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania grant
BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania has awarded the Tepper School a grant to support students investigating the intersection of sustainability and business, and these students will be mentored by Nick Muller.
Muller wins BNY Mellon Foundation grant for Tepper sustainability students
EPP’s Nicholas Muller was awarded a BNY Mellon Foundation grant that will allow students to pursue an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability and business.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Muller speaks on corporate climate requirements
EPP’s Nick Muller comments on climate requirements for companies.
Engineering and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon professor launches ESG index
Nicholas Muller created the ESG Index to serve as a credible, reliable source for accurate data on national trends in monetary pollution damage.
The Hill
Muller quoted on pollution and racial gaps
EPP’s Nick Muller was quoted by The Hill on how pollution disproportionately affects certain racial and ethnic groups, especially older Black and Hispanic individuals.
Engineering and Public Policy
Air quality–related health damages of food
A new research paper from Nina Domingo and collaborators at University of Minnesota, with collaboration from EPP co-authors Peter Adams, Nick Muller, Spyros Pandis, Allen Robinson, Peter Tschofen and others, that was recently featured in The Washington Post, shows how food production negatively impacts human health by increasing atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and identifies ways to reduce these negative impacts of agriculture.
CNBC
Muller quoted on air quality
EPP’s Nicolas Muller was quoted by CNBC on measuring unhealthy air quality in the United States.
Engineering and Public Policy
New publication from Adams, Muller, Robinson, and Sergi
In their recently published paper, Optimizing Emissions Reductions from the U.S. Power Sector for Climate and Health Benefits, EPP alum Brian Sergi, along with EPP professors Peter Adams, Nick Muller, Allen Robinson, and former EPP professor Inês Azevedo, find that climate policy that incorporates health objectives can result in substantial additional benefits by prioritizing emissions reductions in places where health damages are greatest.
Engineering and Public Policy
Mohan and Muller blog post, "Monetary damages – a better measure of sustainability than emissions?"
In a recently published blog post in PRI, EPP PhD student Aniruddh Mohan and EPP Professor Nicholas Muller use their paper, The Growth of Nations Revisited: Global Environmental Accounting from 1998 to 2018, to argue that what matters to societal welfare is not the physical tonnage of emissions, but the monetary damage caused by them.
Engineering and Public Policy
EPP faculty and alums research flows of particulate matter damage in the U.S.
In a new study, EPP Ph.D. alums Brian Sergi (’19) and Inês Azevedo (’09), along with EPP Professor Nick Muller and Steve Davis find that emissions flows across U.S. county lines plays an important role in health damages from air pollution.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Muller on health effects of reduced air pollution from COVID-19
EPP’s Nick Muller was interviewed by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about a new study he co-authored about the impact of social distancing and stay-at-home months during the COVID-19 pandemic on air pollution. The study found that with reduced exposure to fossil fuel emissions from vehicles and power plants, premature mortality from air pollution was likely down 25 percent.
Reuters
Muller on a “green interest rate”
EPP’s Nicholas Muller was quoted in Reuters about a “green interest rate” he proposed in a paper at a Federal Reserve conference about climate change and economics.
Bloomberg Environment
Cohon, Robinson, and Muller published in Bloomberg Environment about natural gas extraction
CEE/EPP’s Jared Cohon, EPP’s Nicholas Muller, and MechE Head Allen Robinson published a letter about the costs of gas extraction in Bloomberg Environment.
The New York Times
Muller on increase in air pollution
EPP’s Nick Muller was quoted by The New York Times in an article about new data showing increases in air pollution since 2016, reversing a long trend of reduced air pollution. “After a decade or so of reductions, this increase is a real about-face,” said Muller.
Bloomberg
Muller’s research shines light on air pollution problem
After a dropping nearly 25% between 2009 and 2016, air pollution is on the rise again. EPP’s Nick Muller co-published a paper that found that particulate matter pollution increased 5.5% in 2017 and 2018. This increase was associated with 9,700 additional premature deaths. Muller and his co-author credit economic activity, wildfires, and declining EPA enforcement for the rebound.
Ars Technica
Muller analyzes economic impact of air pollution deaths
EPP’s Nick Muller recently investigated which polluting industries provide a net benefit to the US economy. His work is featured in Arg Technica.
CMU Engineering
How much does air pollution cost the U.S.?
Damages from air pollution have fallen dramatically in the U.S. in recent years, shows new research. But how different sectors of the economy have contributed to that decline is highly uneven.
The Wall Street Journal
Muller quoted in WSJ on Lego’s quest to make plant-based toy bricks
To reduce its carbon footprint, Lego has invested $150 million into research to find a plant-based substitute for its toy bricks. However, EPP’s Nicholas Muller is skeptical.
Bloomberg
Muller comments on oil and gas drilling emissions
EPP’s Nicholas Muller discussed drilling and emissions with Bloomberg for an article about the EPA and emission-related health costs.
Yahoo Finance
Muller quoted on the economics of environmentalism
EPP’s Nicholas Muller was quoted by Yahoo Finance on how economic growth and environmentalism complement each other.