Christopher D. Timmins | Scholars@Duke

Christopher D. Timmins
Professor of Economics

Christopher D. Timmins is a Professor in the Department of Economics at Duke University, with a secondary appointment in Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment. He holds a BSFS degree from Georgetown University and a PhD in Economics from Stanford University. Professor Timmins was an Assistant Professor in the Yale Department of Economics before joining the faculty at Duke in 2004. His professional activities include teaching, research, and editorial responsibilities. Professor Timmins specializes in natural resource and environmental economics, but he also has interests in industrial organization, development, public and regional economics. He works on developing new methods for non-market valuation of local public goods and amenities, with a particular focus on hedonic techniques and models of residential sorting. His recent research has focused on measuring the costs associated with exposure to poor air quality, the benefits associated with remediating brownfields and toxic waste under the Superfund program, the valuation of non-marginal changes in disamenities, and the causes and consequences of "environmental injustice".

Professor Timmins is a research associate in the Environmental and Energy Economics group at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and has served as a reviewer for numerous environmental, urban, and applied microeconomics journals as well as governments agencies and foundations. He has served as a co-editor of the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management and as an editor of the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.

Office Hours

Available upon request

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Professor of Economics, Economics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2012
Professor in the Division of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Environmental Sciences and Policy, Nicholas School of the Environment 2014
Faculty Network Member of The Energy Initiative, Nicholas Institute-Energy Initiative, Initiatives 2012

Contact Information

209 Social Sciences Bldg, Box 90097, Durham, NC 27708
Box 90097, Durham, NC 27708-0097
christopher.timmins@duke.edu (919) 357-0473
Personal Website

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., Stanford University 1997
- B.S., Georgetown University 1991
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Director of Ecoteach in the Department of Economics, Economics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2020 - 2022
- Associate Professor in the Division of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University 2011 - 2014
- Associate Professor of Economics, Economics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2004 - 2012
- Director of the EcoTeach Center in the Department of Economics, Economics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2010
Recognition
In the News
- JAN 26, 2021 Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions
  
  Eviction, Utility Moratoria Helped Slow Spread of COVID
- FEB 25, 2016 Duke Today
  
  Economist Christopher Timmins Provides Testimony on Environmental Justice at Civil Rights Commission
- DEC 15, 2015 Triangle Business Journal
  
  Duke study: Fracking lowers home values by $30K
- DEC 11, 2015
  
  Fracking Brings Steep Drops in Home Values in Some Neighborhoods, But Not All
- MAR 3, 2015 Duke Research Blog
  
  Duke, RTI Scientists Pair to Study Fracking, Public Health
- FEB 7, 2014 BBC Radio 4’s "You and Yours"
  
  Christopher Timmins: The effect of fracking on the U.S. housing market
Awards & Honors
- Research Associate (NBER Family Member). National Bureau of Economic Research. 2009
- Faculty Research Fellow (NBER Family Member). National Bureau for Economic Research. 2007
Expertise
Subject Headings
- Muser Mentor
Research
Selected Grants
- Welfare Impacts of Housing Discrimination on Locational Choice awarded by University of Illinois at Urbana--Champaign 2019 - 2021
- Collaborative Research: The Impacts of Racial Discrimination on Housing Choice and Welfare in the United States awarded by National Science Foundation 2019 - 2021
- Information Policy for the Development of U.S. Shale Gas Resource: Property Rights, Leases, Competition and Regulation awarded by National Science Foundation 2016 - 2020
Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants
- Reckoning with Race, Racism, and the History of the American South Initiative: Clean Energy for All? Creating A North Carolina Policy Roadmap to a Just and Clean Energy Transition awarded by Duke Office of the Provost 2021
- Valuing Remediation Efforts at Federal Facilities (subcontract) awarded by EPA's Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse Office 2017 - 2018
External Relationships
- 2M Consulting
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Academic Articles
  - Gao, X., R. Song, and C. Timmins. “Information, migration, and the value of clean air (Accepted).” Journal of Development Economics 163 (June 1, 2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103079.
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  - Christensen, P., and C. Timmins. “Sorting or Steering: The Effects of Housing Discrimination on Neighborhood Choice.” Journal of Political Economy 130, no. 8 (August 1, 2022): 2110–63. https://doi.org/10.1086/720140.
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  - Christensen, P., I. Sarmiento-Barbieri, and C. Timmins. “HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AND THE TOXICS EXPOSURE GAP IN THE UNITED STATES: EVIDENCE FROM THE RENTAL MARKET.” Review of Economics and Statistics 104, no. 4 (July 1, 2022): 807–18. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_00992.
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  - Timmins, C., and A. Vissing. “Environmental justice and Coasian bargaining: The role of race, ethnicity, and income in lease negotiations for shale gas.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 114 (July 1, 2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2022.102657.
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  - Monsour, Molly, Emily Clarke-Rubright, Wil Lieberman-Cribbin, Christopher Timmins, Emanuela Taioli, Rebecca M. Schwartz, Samantha S. Corley, Anna M. Laucis, and Rajendra A. Morey. “The impact of climate change on the prevalence of mental illness symptoms.” J Affect Disord 300 (March 1, 2022): 430–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.124.
    Full Text Link to Item
  - Gibbons, S., S. Heblich, and C. Timmins. “Market tremors: Shale gas exploration, earthquakes, and their impact on house prices.” Journal of Urban Economics 122 (March 1, 2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2020.103313.
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  - Bishop, K. C., N. V. Kuminoff, H. S. Banzhaf, K. J. Boyle, K. von Gravenitz, J. C. Pope, V. K. Smith, and C. D. Timmins. “Best practices for using hedonic property value models to measure willingness to pay for environmental quality.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 14, no. 2 (July 1, 2020): 260–81. https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/reaa001.
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  - Banzhaf, H. S., L. Ma, and C. Timmins. “Environmental Justice: Establishing Causal Relationships.” Annual Review of Resource Economics 11 (October 5, 2019): 377–98. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100518-094131.
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  - Freeman, R., W. Liang, R. Song, and C. Timmins. “Willingness to pay for clean air in China.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 94 (March 1, 2019): 188–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2019.01.005.
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  - Bishop, K. C., and C. Timmins. “Estimating the marginal willingness to pay function without instrumental variables.” Journal of Urban Economics 109 (January 1, 2019): 66–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2018.11.006.
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  - Banzhaf, Spencer, Lala Ma, and Christopher Timmins. “Environmental Justice: the Economics of Race, Place, and Pollution.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives : A Journal of the American Economic Association 33, no. 1 (January 2019): 185–208. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.33.1.185.
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  - Bishop, K. C., and C. Timmins. “Using panel data to easily estimate hedonic demand functions.” Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 5, no. 3 (July 1, 2018): 517–43. https://doi.org/10.1086/696981.
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  - Haninger, K., L. Ma, and C. Timmins. “The value of brownfield remediation.” Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 4, no. 1 (March 1, 2017): 197–241. https://doi.org/10.1086/689743.
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  - Bayer, P., R. McMillan, A. Murphy, and C. Timmins. “A Dynamic Model of Demand for Houses and Neighborhoods.” Econometrica 84, no. 3 (May 1, 2016): 893–942. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA10170.
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  - Muehlenbachs, L., E. Spiller, and C. Timmins. “The housing market impacts of shale gas development: Corrigendum.” American Economic Review 106, no. 2 (February 1, 2016): 475. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.106.2.475.
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  - Muehlenbachs, L., E. Spiller, and C. Timmins. “The housing market impacts of shale gas development.” American Economic Review 105, no. 12 (December 1, 2015): 3633–59. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20140079.
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  - Depro, B., C. Timmins, and M. O’neil. “White flight and coming to the nuisance: can residential mobility explain environmental injustice?” Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists 2, no. 3 (September 1, 2015): 439–68. https://doi.org/10.1086/682716.
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  - Kuminoff, Nicolai V., Todd Schoellman, and Christopher Timmins. “Environmental Regulations and the Welfare Effects of Job Layoffs in the United States: A Spatial Approach.” Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 9, no. 2 (July 1, 2015): 198–218. https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/rev006.
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  - Spiller, E., H. Stephens, C. Timmins, and A. Smith. “The Effect of Gasoline Taxes and Public Transit Investments on Driving Patterns.” Environmental and Resource Economics 59, no. 4 (December 1, 2014): 633–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-013-9753-9.
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  - Kuminoff, N. V., V. K. Smith, and C. Timmins. “The new economics of equilibrium sorting and policy evaluation using housing markets.” Journal of Economic Literature 51, no. 4 (December 1, 2013): 1007–62. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.51.4.1007.
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  - Ellickson, P. B., S. Houghton, and C. Timmins. “Estimating network economies in retail chains: A revealed preference approach.” Rand Journal of Economics 44, no. 2 (June 1, 2013): 169–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-2171.12016.
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  - Gamper-Rabindran, S., and C. Timmins. “Does cleanup of hazardous waste sites raise housing values? Evidence of spatially localized benefits.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 65, no. 3 (May 1, 2013): 345–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2012.12.001.
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  - Deleire, T., S. Khan, and C. Timmins. “Roy model sorting and nonrandom selection in the valuation of a statistical life.” International Economic Review 54, no. 1 (February 1, 2013): 279–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2354.2012.00733.x.
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  - Muehlenbachs, L., E. Spiller, and C. D. Timmins. “Shale Gas Development and Property Values: Differences Across Drinking Water Sources.” Economic Research Initiatives at Duke (Erid) Working Paper, no. 131 (September 1, 2012).
    Open Access Copy
  - Bajari, P., J. C. Fruehwirth, K. I. Kim, and C. Timmins. “A rational expectations approach to hedonic price regressions with time-varying unobserved product attributes: The price of pollution.” American Economic Review 102, no. 5 (August 1, 2012): 1898–1926. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.102.5.1898.
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  - Gamper-Rabindran, S., and C. Timmins. “Hazardous waste cleanup, neighborhood gentrification, and environmental justice: Evidence from restricted access census block data.” American Economic Review 101, no. 3 (May 1, 2011): 620–24. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.101.3.620.
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  - Bayer, P., S. Khan, and C. Timmins. “Nonparametric identification and estimation in a Roy model with common nonpecuniary returns.” Journal of Business and Economic Statistics 29, no. 2 (April 1, 2011): 201–15. https://doi.org/10.1198/jbes.2010.08083.
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  - Gamper-Rabindran, S., S. Khan, and C. Timmins. “The impact of piped water provision on infant mortality in Brazil: A quantile panel data approach.” Journal of Development Economics 92, no. 2 (July 1, 2010): 188–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2009.02.006.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Timmins, Christopher, and Wolfram Schlenker. “Reduced-Form Versus Structural Modeling in Environmental and Resource Economics.” Annual Review of Resource Economics 1, no. 1 (October 10, 2009): 351–80. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.resource.050708.144119.
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  - Lall, S. V., C. Timmins, and S. Yu. “Connecting lagging and leading regions: The role of labor mobility.” Brookings Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs 2009 (September 8, 2009): 151–74.
  - Bayer, P., N. Keohane, and C. Timmins. “Migration and hedonic valuation: The case of air quality.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 58, no. 1 (July 1, 2009): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2008.08.004.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Pattanayak, S. K., M. T. Ross, B. M. Depro, S. C. Bauch, C. Timmins, K. J. Wendland, and K. Alger. “Climate change and conservation in Brazil: CGE evaluation of health and wealth impacts.” B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy 9, no. 2 (January 1, 2009). https://doi.org/10.2202/1935-1682.2096.
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  - Timmins, C. D., S. Li, and R. von Haefen. “How Do Gas Prices Affect Fleet Fuel Economy?” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 1, no. 2 (2009): 113–37.
    Open Access Copy
  - Wagner, U. J., and C. D. Timmins. “Agglomeration effects in foreign direct investment and the pollution haven hypothesis.” Environmental and Resource Economics 43, no. 2 (January 1, 2009): 231–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-008-9236-6.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Bayer, P., and C. Timmins. “Estimating equilibrium models of sorting across locations.” Economic Journal 117, no. 518 (March 1, 2007): 353–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2007.02021.x.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Timmins, C., and J. Murdock. “A revealed preference approach to the measurement of congestion in travel cost models.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 53, no. 2 (March 1, 2007): 230–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2006.08.002.
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  - Timmins, C. “If you cannot take the heat, get out of the cerrado... Recovering the equilibrium amenity cost of nonmarginal climate change in Brazil.” Journal of Regional Science 47, no. 1 (January 1, 2007): 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9787.2007.00497.x.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Timmins, C. “Estimating spatial differences in the Brazilian cost of living with household location choices.” Journal of Development Economics 80, no. 1 (June 1, 2006): 59–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2005.02.006.
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  - Timmins, C. “Endogenous land use and the Ricardian valuation of climate change.” Environmental and Resource Economics 33, no. 1 (January 1, 2006): 119–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-005-2646-9.
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  - Nou, J., and C. Timmins. “How do changes in welfare law affect domestic violence? An analysis of Connecticut towns, 1990-2000.” Journal of Legal Studies 34, no. 2 (June 1, 2005): 445–69. https://doi.org/10.1086/429847.
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  - Bayer, P., and C. Timmins. “On the equilibrium properties of locational sorting models.” Journal of Urban Economics 57, no. 3 (May 1, 2005): 462–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2004.12.008.
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  - Timmins, C. “Estimable equilibrium models of locational sorting and their role in development economics.” Journal of Economic Geography 5, no. 1 (January 1, 2005): 83–100. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnlecg/lbh055.
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  - Timmins, C. “Demand-Side Technology Standards Under Inefficient Pricing Regimes: Are They Effective Water Conservation Tools in the Long-Run?” Environmental and Resource Economics 26, no. 1 (September 1, 2003): 107–24. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025689706396.
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  - Timmins, C. “Measuring the dynamic efficiency costs of regulators' preferences: Municipal water utilities in the Arid West.” Econometrica 70, no. 2 (January 1, 2002): 603–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0262.00297.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
  - Timmins, C. “Does the median voter consume too much water? Analyzing the redistributive role of residential water bills.” National Tax Journal 55, no. 4 (January 1, 2002): 687–702. https://doi.org/10.17310/ntj.2002.4.02.
    Full Text Open Access Copy
- Book Sections
  - Liang, W., R. Song, and C. Timmins. “The Role of Migration Costs in Residential Sorting.” In Urban Book Series, 251–83, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74544-8_4.
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  - Moi, Toril. “Introduction.” In Camille The Lady of the Camellias, by Alexandre Dumas Fils. New York: Signet Classics, 2003.
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
- ECON 392: Independent Study 2023
- ECON 593: Research Independent Study 2023
- ECON 951S: Applied Microeconomics Research 2023
- ECON 393: Research Independent Study 2022
- ECON 493: Honors Research Independent Study 2022
- ECON 593: Research Independent Study 2022
- ECON 621: Non-Market Valuation 2022
- ECON 821: Non-Market Valuation 2022
- ECON 898: Directed Research 2022
- ECON 899: Internship 2022
- ECON 951S: Applied Microeconomics Research 2022
- ECON 339: Environmental Economics and Policy 2021
- ECON 393: Research Independent Study 2021
- ECON 394: Research Independent Study 2021
- ECON 493: Honors Research Independent Study 2021
- ECON 951S: Applied Microeconomics Research 2021
- ENVIRON 363: Environmental Economics and Policy 2021
Advising & Mentoring
- Graduate and Postdoctoral Advisees (Current Institution, Total 28):
  
  Elliot Anenberg (Federal Reserve Board), David Bielen (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), Kelly Bishop (Arizona State University), Juan Carranza (Icesi University, Cali Colombia), Jane Cooley-Fruehwirth (University of North Carolina), Katherine Dickinson (National Center for Atmospheric Research), Stephen Finger (University of South Carolina), Guenter Hitsch (University of Chicago GSB), Stephanie Houghton (University of Texas, Austin), Ling Huang (University of Connecticut), Songman Kang (Hanyang University), Olga Kozlova (Current Student), Tatyana Kuzmenko (College of William and Mary), Shanjun Li (Cornell University), Lala Ma (University of Kentucky), Peter Maniloff (Colorado School of Mines), Ralph Mastromonaco (University of Oregon), Marcela Melendez (Econ Estudio, Bogota Columbia), Jennifer Murdock (University of Toronto), Alvin Murphy (Arizona State University), Denis Nekipelov (UC Berkeley), Evan Peet (Harvard School of Public Health Post-Doc), Nujin Prasertsom (CER-ETH, Zurich), Matthias Schuendeln (Goethe Universitat), Katja Seim (Wharton School of Business), Elisheba Spiller (Environmental Defense Fund), Andrew Steck (Current Student), Andrea Szabo (University of Houston), Ashley Vissing (Current Student), Emily Wang (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Junjie Zhang (UC San Diego)
  
  Duke Pre-Major Advisor: Fall 2014 - Present
Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Service to the Profession
- Co-Editor. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. 2014 - 2016 2014 - 2016
- Co-Editor. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. 2010 - 2013 2010 - 2013
- Board of Editors. American Economic Review. 2008 - 2016 2008 - 2016
Service to Duke
- Duke Energy Initiative. Duke Energy Initiative. 2012 - 2016 2012 - 2016
- PhD Placement Director. Department of Economics. 2011 - 2014 2011 - 2014
- Department of Economics. Chair, Economics Junior Recruiting Committee. 2009 - 2010 2009 - 2010
- University Program on Environmental Policy Steering Committee. 2009 - 2016 2009 - 2016
- Director, Economics Center for Teaching. Department of Economics. 2008 - 2010 2008 - 2010
- Duke University Academic Council. 2007 - 2010 2007 - 2010

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

In the News

Awards & Honors

Subject Headings

Selected Grants

Fellowships, Supported Research, & Other Grants

External Relationships

Selected Publications

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Recent Courses

Advising & Mentoring

Service to the Profession

Service to Duke