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Draft:Eli Fenichel

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Eli P. Fenichel is an American economist and endowed professor at Yale University[1]. He is known for his work on natural resource economics, particularly integrating ecological systems within economic models, measuring the value of natural capital, national accounting for natural resources and environmental assets, and the economics of infectious diseases[1]. Fenichel served as the Assistant Director for Natural Resource Economics and Accounting at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from 2021 to 2023.

Education and Early Life

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Fenichel holds a Ph.D. in Fisheries and Wildlife, a PhD certificate in Environmental Economics, and a M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University[2]. His graduate work focused on integrating dynamic ecological systems into economic models primarily in applications to fisheries and infectious diseases. Before joining Yale, he was an assistant professor at Arizona State University. He is a former U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Maine.

Academic Career

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At Yale University, Fenichel is a faculty member in the School of the Environment, where his work centers on linking economics and ecology. He has published on bioeconomic modeling, sustainability metrics, valuation of natural capital and of ecosystem services, and the economics of infectious disease[2]. Fenichel teaches courses in natural resource economics, natural capital, sustainable development, applied math, and data science[1].

Bioeconomic modeling

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Fenichel's contributions to bioeconomic modeling focus on understanding ecological-economic thresholds and tipping points.[3][4][5].

Natural capital valuation

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Fenichel and his colleague Joshua Abbott created new methods for measuring the value of natural resources as assets or capital. These methods have been applied to reef fish[6], groundwater[7], Baltic Sea fisheries[8], caribou[9], forests[10], and other systems. Fenichel has also published generalized reviews on this topic[11][12].

Contributions to national accounting and wealth-based sustainability metrics

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Fenichel has also contributed to understanding the usefulness of natural capital measures in national accounting systems and sustainability metrics[13] [14]. He researches the development of natural resource balance sheets. He was also a contributing author to the World Bank’s 2024 Changing Wealth of Nations Report[15] and co-lead on the report for the High Level Panel for the Sustainable Ocean Economy’s blue paper on national accounting for the ocean[16].  

Contributions to the economics of infectious disease

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Fenichel has also worked on the economics of infectious disease. His early research on infectious disease focused on wildlife and livestock diseases[17][18][19]. During the 2009 A/H1N1 (swine) flu epidemic, he began working on the economics of human infectious disease and published theoretical papers on economics of social distancing behavior in 2011[3] and 2013[20].

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Fenichel, along with Jude Bayham, questioned the effectiveness of long-term school closures[21]. Fenichel tested his theory of behavioral response to disease risk by examining generalized responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and separating them from stay-home mandates[22] and examining response to face mask mandates[23].

Fenichel has written numerous reviews on the economics of wildlife and livestock disease[24][25] and the economics of human infectious disease[26][27][28].

Public Service and Policy

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From 2021 to 2023, Fenichel served as Assistant Director at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as part of the Biden administration[29]. He led interagency efforts to modernize economic metrics and improve the integration of natural resources as capital into federal decision-making. He played a role in developing and promoting the National Strategy to Develop Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions, released in 2023, which aimed to develop natural resource balance sheets and better align environmental data with economic reporting across U.S. agencies[30].

Fenichel also participated in updating the Office of Management and Budgets circular A-4[31], developing guidance for measure ecosystem services in benefit-cost analysis[32], environmentally related international negotiations, and other initiatives.

Fenichel has served on multiple advisory councils, including U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Advisory Committee, the Science Advisory Board for the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences), and the WHO Technical Advisory Group on Economics for Environment[33][34]. He has advised the United Nationals Statistical Division, the World Bank, and Asian Development Bank, and various national statistical offices and environment ministries on natural capital and national accounting[35].

Honors and Recognition

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In addition to holding the Knobloch Family chair in Natural Resource Economics at Yale, Fenichel has been a visiting fellow at the Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and a global fellow at the Smart Prosperity Institute[36].

In 2025, Fenichel was awarded the Frontiers Planet Prize National Champion (Netherlands) award and the paper of enduring quality award by the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.[37] In 2020, he won the best paper award from the theory section of the Ecological Society of America and the most cited paper award from the Society of Population Ecology.[38]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Eli Fenichel | Yale School of the Environment". environment.yale.edu. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  2. ^ a b "Alumnus shapes learning, influences policy at Yale". College of Agriculture & Natural Resources. 2016-12-05. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  3. ^ a b Fenichel, Eli P.; Castillo-Chavez, Carlos; Ceddia, M. G.; Chowell, Gerardo; Parra, Paula A. Gonzalez; Hickling, Graham J.; Holloway, Garth; Horan, Richard; Morin, Benjamin; Perrings, Charles; Springborn, Michael; Velazquez, Leticia; Villalobos, Cristina (2011-03-28). "Adaptive human behavior in epidemiological models". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (15): 6306–6311. Bibcode:2011PNAS..108.6306F. doi:10.1073/pnas.1011250108. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3076845. PMID 21444809.
  4. ^ Fenichel, Eli P.; Horan, Richard D. (December 2016). "Tinbergen and tipping points: Could some thresholds be policy-induced?". Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. 132: 137–152. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2016.06.014. ISSN 0167-2681.
  5. ^ Fenichel, Eli P.; Richards, Timothy J.; Shanafelt, David W. (2013-09-17). "The Control of Invasive Species on Private Property with Neighbor-to-Neighbor Spillovers". Environmental and Resource Economics. 59 (2): 231–255. doi:10.1007/s10640-013-9726-z. ISSN 0924-6460. PMC 4207096. PMID 25346573.
  6. ^ Fenichel, Eli P.; Abbott, Joshua K. (March 2014). "Natural Capital: From Metaphor to Measurement". Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. 1 (1/2): 1–27. Bibcode:2014AEREJ...1....1F. doi:10.1086/676034. ISSN 2333-5955.
  7. ^ Fenichel, Eli P.; Abbott, Joshua K.; Bayham, Jude; Boone, Whitney; Haacker, Erin M. K.; Pfeiffer, Lisa (2016-02-08). "Measuring the value of groundwater and other forms of natural capital". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 113 (9): 2382–2387. Bibcode:2016PNAS..113.2382F. doi:10.1073/pnas.1513779113. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 4780598. PMID 26858431.
  8. ^ Yun, Seong Do; Hutniczak, Barbara; Abbott, Joshua K.; Fenichel, Eli P. (2017-06-06). "Ecosystem-based management and the wealth of ecosystems". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 114 (25): 6539–6544. Bibcode:2017PNAS..114.6539Y. doi:10.1073/pnas.1617666114. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 5488918. PMID 28588145.
  9. ^ Maher, Samantha M.; Fenichel, Eli P.; Schmitz, Oswald J.; Adamowicz, Wiktor L. (2020-05-21). "The economics of conservation debt: a natural capital approach to revealed valuation of ecological dynamics". Ecological Applications. 30 (6): e02132. Bibcode:2020EcoAp..30E2132M. doi:10.1002/eap.2132. ISSN 1051-0761. PMID 32297391.
  10. ^ Hashida, Yukiko; Fenichel, Eli P. (2021-08-09). "Valuing natural capital when management is dominated by periods of inaction". American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 104 (2): 791–811. doi:10.1111/ajae.12250. ISSN 0002-9092.
  11. ^ Schneider, Friedrich (2010-02-24). "Karl-Göran Mäler and Jeffrey R. Vincent (eds.): Handbook of Environmental Economics: Valuing Environmental Changes, Volume 2". Public Choice. 145 (1–2): 321–322. doi:10.1007/s11127-010-9613-x. ISSN 0048-5829.
  12. ^ Fenichel, Eli P; Hashida, Yukiko (2019). "Choices and the value of natural capital". Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 35 (1): 120–137. doi:10.1093/oxrep/gry021. ISSN 0266-903X.
  13. ^ Fenichel, Eli P.; Addicott, Ethan T.; Grimsrud, Kristine M.; Lange, Glenn-Marie; Porras, Ina; Milligan, Ben (2020-08-10). "Modifying national accounts for sustainable ocean development". Nature Sustainability. 3 (11): 889–895. Bibcode:2020NatSu...3..889F. doi:10.1038/s41893-020-0592-8. ISSN 2398-9629.
  14. ^ Fenichel, Eli P.; Levin, Simon A.; McCay, Bonnie; St. Martin, Kevin; Abbott, Joshua K.; Pinsky, Malin L. (2016-02-24). "Wealth reallocation and sustainability under climate change". Nature Climate Change. 6 (3): 237–244. Bibcode:2016NatCC...6..237F. doi:10.1038/nclimate2871. ISSN 1758-678X.
  15. ^ "The Changing Wealth of Nations: Revisiting the Measurement of Comprehensive Wealth". 2024-11-04. doi:10.1596/42357. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ "Blue Paper: National Accounting for the Ocean and the Ocean Economy". The Global Ocean Accounts Partnership. 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  17. ^ Fenichel, Eli P.; Horan, Richard D. (November 2007). "Gender-Based Harvesting in Wildlife Disease Management". American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 89 (4): 904–920. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8276.2007.01025.x. ISSN 0002-9092.
  18. ^ FENICHEL, ELI P.; HORAN, RICHARD D. (December 2007). "Jointly-Determined Ecological Thresholds and Economic Trade-Offs in Wildlife Disease Management". Natural Resource Modeling. 20 (4): 511–547. Bibcode:2007NRM....20..511F. doi:10.1111/j.1939-7445.2007.tb00219.x. ISSN 0890-8575.
  19. ^ Horan, Richard D.; Wolf, Christopher A.; Fenichel, Eli P.; Mathews, Kenneth H. (2007-12-04). "Joint Management of Wildlife and Livestock Disease". Environmental and Resource Economics. 41 (1): 47–70. doi:10.1007/s10640-007-9180-x. ISSN 0924-6460.
  20. ^ Fenichel, Eli P. (March 2013). "Economic considerations for social distancing and behavioral based policies during an epidemic". Journal of Health Economics. 32 (2): 440–451. doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2013.01.002. ISSN 0167-6296. PMC 3659402. PMID 23419635.
  21. ^ Bayham, Jude; Fenichel, Eli P (May 2020). "Impact of school closures for COVID-19 on the US health-care workforce and net mortality: a modelling study". The Lancet Public Health. 5 (5): e271 – e278. doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(20)30082-7. ISSN 2468-2667. PMC 7270508. PMID 32251626.
  22. ^ Yan, Youpei; Malik, Amyn A.; Bayham, Jude; Fenichel, Eli P.; Couzens, Chandra; Omer, Saad B. (2021-04-20). "Measuring voluntary and policy-induced social distancing behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (16): e2008814118. Bibcode:2021PNAS..11808814Y. doi:10.1073/pnas.2008814118. PMC 8076999. PMID 33820846.
  23. ^ Yan, Youpei; Bayham, Jude; Richter, Aaron; Fenichel, Eli P. (2021-02-04). "Risk compensation and face mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic". Scientific Reports. 11 (1) 3174. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11.3174Y. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-82574-w. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7862259. PMID 33542386.
  24. ^ Horan, Richard D.; Fenichel, Eli P.; Wolf, Christopher A.; Gramig, Benjamin M. (2010-10-01). "Managing Infectious Animal Disease Systems". Annual Review of Resource Economics. 2 (1): 101–124. doi:10.1146/annurev.resource.012809.103859. ISSN 1941-1340.
  25. ^ Horan, Richard D. (2011-05-30). "Wildlife Disease Bioeconomics". International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics. 5 (1): 23–61. doi:10.1561/101.00000038. ISSN 1932-1473.
  26. ^ Dangerfield, Ciara; Fenichel, Eli P.; Finnoff, David; Hanley, Nick; Hargreaves Heap, Shaun; Shogren, Jason F.; Toxvaerd, Flavio (June 2022). "Challenges of integrating economics into epidemiological analysis of and policy responses to emerging infectious diseases". Epidemics. 39 100585. doi:10.1016/j.epidem.2022.100585. ISSN 1755-4365. PMC 9124042. PMID 35636312.
  27. ^ Auld, M. Christopher; Toxvaerd, Flavio (2021). "The Great Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout: Behavioural and Policy Responses". National Institute Economic Review. 257: 14–35. doi:10.1017/nie.2021.23. ISSN 0027-9501.
  28. ^ Perrings, Charles; Castillo-Chavez, Carlos; Chowell, Gerardo; Daszak, Peter; Fenichel, Eli P.; Finnoff, David; Horan, Richard D.; Kilpatrick, A. Marm; Kinzig, Ann P.; Kuminoff, Nicolai V.; Levin, Simon; Morin, Benjamin; Smith, Katherine F.; Springborn, Michael (2014-09-19). "Merging Economics and Epidemiology to Improve the Prediction and Management of Infectious Disease". EcoHealth. 11 (4): 464–475. doi:10.1007/s10393-014-0963-6. ISSN 1612-9202. PMC 4366543. PMID 25233829.
  29. ^ "Eli Fenichel Named to Office of Science and Technology Policy". environment.yale.edu. 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  30. ^ "Integrating Nature into US Economic Statistics, with Eli Fenichel". Resources for the Future. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  31. ^ Tillen, Chris (2023-11-17). "Fenichel discusses how to use economics to promote environmental goals in federal legislation". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  32. ^ Chemnick, Jean (2023-08-01). "White House to agencies: Tally projects' financial damage to ecosystems". E&E News by POLITICO. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  33. ^ "People | Beijer Institute". beijer.kva.se. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  34. ^ "WHO announces proposed members of its Technical Advisory Group on Economics for Environment, Climate Change and Health (TAG-EconECH)". www.who.int. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  35. ^ "Eli Fenichel | SESYNC". www.sesync.org. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  36. ^ "Eli Fenichel". Smart Prosperity Institute. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  37. ^ "Fenichel Paper Honored for Enduring Impact on Epidemic Modeling". accessed 07/31/2025. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ "Past Outstanding Paper Award Recipients". 2023-08-13.
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