Research
Director of the multiregional planning research staff, conducting studies on the economies of the United States, People’s Republic of China, and other developing countries, with a major focus on theoretical and empirical analyses of employment, energy, environmental, property-rights, public-infrastructure, restructuring, and transportation issues.

Special Program in Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS)
  1991-1995, director.
  1973-1974, co-associate director.
  1972-1973, 1974-1991, 1996-present, faculty associate.

Selected other MIT activities 
   MIT Energy Research Council.  2005-2006, Member
   MIT Edgerton Award Selection Committee.  2004-2005, Member; 2005-2006, Head
   Regional Planning Track, 2006-present
   International Development and Regional Planning group: 1996-2006, Head
   School of Architecture and Planning Diversity Committee: 2000 to 2005 (originally women faculty review committee), Member
   Ph.D. program:  1978, 1981, 1993-1995, Head; 1973-1977, 1979-1980, 1982-1992, 1996- present, Member
   Community and Regional Development Program Group: Co-Head 1973-1975
   Urban and Regional Economics Group: Head 1980-1989
   Employment, Community, and Regional Development Cluster: 1989-1991, Head
   Women in Planning Group: Co-Head 1984-1994

Keio University, Department of Business and Commerce, Tokyo, Japan, June 1996,
Visiting Professor.

Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Systems Science, Beijing, China, August 1988, 1990, 1992; July 1991, 1993, 1994
Visiting Professor

Université de Montpellier-I, Montpellier, France, May-June 1985 Faculte de Droit et des Sciences Économiques
Visiting Professeur

University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia, July-August 1983 S.W. Brooks
      Visiting Lecturer.

University of Cambridge, 1970-1971
Senior Visitor, Faculty of Economics, and member of High Table, King's College.

Harvard University, 1961-1972

Research Associate, Harvard Economic Research Project, July 1966-June 1972; director of a multiregional input-output research study of the U.S. economy.

Instructor, Lecturer, 1966-1970, teaching the following three classes: Location and Regional Economics; Introduction to Quantitative Methods; The Structure of the American Economy.

 

PROFESSIONAL AND OTHER ACTIVITIES

American Economic Association (Member, 1960 to present).
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Technical Economics Committee
   (Member, 1993 to 1999).
Association of American Geographers  (Member, 1999 to 2004)
Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Advisory
   Committee (Member 1999-2004)
Center for Environmental Assessment and Policy, Operations Committee,
   University of Cincinnati, Ohio (Member, 1995-1997).
Center for Environmental Studies, Senior Economic Advisory Committee,
   Shijiazhuang, People's Republic of China (Member, 1997 to 1999).
International Association for Research in Income and Wealth (Member, 1980-
   1999).
International Input-Output Association (Member, 1986-present; President, 1997 to 2001; Vice
   President, 1991-1996; Council Member, 1991 to 2004).
National Ocean Economics Project (NOEP) National Advisory Board.  1999-present.
North American Regional Science Association (Member, 1966-present; Council
   Member 1990-1993; Alonso Prize committee member 2003-present).
South Coast Air Quality Management District, Socioeconomic Technical Modeling Advisory
   Committee, Los Angeles, CA (Member, 1992-present).
South Coast Air Quality Management District, Open Market Evaluation.  Senior Economist. Los Angeles, CA (Reviewer, 2000-2001).
U.S. National Research Council, U.S. National Committee to the Pacific Science Association, Washington, DC (Member, 1997 to 2001).
University of West Virginia, Regional Research Institute, External Advisory Board (Member, 2000 to present).

 

 

SELECTED AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS

Regional Science Association International (RSAI) Fellow (Lifetime appointment, given to 17 of the ~3500 international members to honor significant scholarly and research contributions to the field of regional science) Regional Science Association International.  2005 to present.

Margaret McCoy Award (for outstanding contribution towards the advancement of women in planning at institutions of higher education through service, teaching, and research). Associated Collegiate Schools of Planning/Faculty Women’s Interest Group.  1999.

Walter Isard Distinguished Scholar Award (for distinguished long-term achievements in the field of Regional Science).  North American Regional Science Association, 1996.

Visiting Professor, Fulbright and CNPq: University of Brasilia, Department of Economics, and Faculdade Latino-Americano de Ciencias Sociais (FLASCO), Brasilia, Brasil, May-June 1994.

Visiting Scholar. U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Visiting Scholar Exchange Program, Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Systems Science, Beijing, China, May-July, 1986.

Visiting Professeur, Ministere de L'Education Nationale Fellowship, Université de Montpellier-I, Montpellier, France, Faculte de Droit et des Sciences Économiques, May-June 1985.

Sabbatical Fellowship, Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, January-July 1980.

 

SELECTED ADVISING AND CONSULTING EXPERIENCE

National Ocean Economy Project.  Senior Advisor on National Advisory Board.  (Member),
2002-present.  Advising on the accounting and economic-impact analyses related to the ocean economy.

U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.  Senior Economic Consultant. (2005-2006)  External independent reviewing of impact studies for Economic Consequence Analyses, prepared for Task 9 of IPET [Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force] concerning hurricane Katrina]

South Coast Air-Quality Management District.  Socioeconomic Technical Modeling Advisory Committee. (Member, 1993-present).  Senior Economist.  Reviewing different proposals for modeling the air-pollution rules and regulations.

Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce.  Economic Advisory Committee, Washington, DC (Member, 1999-2004).  Advising on various national and regional  accounting issues.

South Coast Air-Quality Management District.  Advanced Air Pollution Research Plan Steering Committee (Member, 2002-2004).  Reviewing research plans for the entire agency and help establish priorities for their $25 million research budget.

South Coast Air-Quality Management District.  RECLAIM Market Working Group.  (Member 2001-2004).  Examining possibilities of setting up a market for the tradeable permits in the Los Angeles basin.

South Coast Air-Quality Management District.  Expert Review Committee for RECLAIM. 2001.  Senior Economist.  Advised on potential socioeconomic effects of changing the District’s RECLAIM (tradeable permit) program in light of the California energy crisis.

The Models of Sustainable Development (MSD) Project,  Rob Lichtman, Director.  January 2000. Senior Economist.  Conducted economic analyses for the sustainable development of Rizhao, Shandong Province, People Republic of China.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  Review Editor of Chapters 3-5 of Working Group 2.   1998-2000.  Attended initial meetings in New Delhi India and Oxford, England, and the final meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal.  Reviewed chapters between meetings and responded to inquiries at the meetings.

United Nations Development Programme and Development Research Center of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC).  1995-1997.  Senior Economist.  Conducted economic analyses for the sustainable development of the Yellow River Delta region in the PRC.

HBRS, Inc.  1994-1995.  Senior Economist.  Conducted economic-impact analysis of energy efficiency and renewable energy alternatives for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

U.S. Department of Justice.  Fall 1994.  Expert Witness.  Testified on the case of The State of Missouri vs. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the use of the REMI model by the state.

South Coast Air Quality Management District.  Fall 1993-Spring 1994.  Senior Economist.  Reviewed international groups conducting evaluations of economic impacts of air-pollution rules and regulations.

United Nations Development Programme.  August 1993.  Senior Economist.  Evaluated the regional planning and economics curricula and related activities at the National Academy of Civil Administration, Mussoorie, India.

Asian Development Bank (ADB).  December 1992.  Senior Economist.  Reviewed the potential for economic development in five Northwest provinces in the People's Republic of China (China) for possible shift in ADB funding to the Northwest of China.

South Coast Air Quality Management District (District).  April 1991-June 1992.  Principal Investigator.  Evaluated the use by the District of the REMI model and other techniques for the evaluation of economic impacts of air-pollution rules and regulations in the Los Angeles basin.

Boston Institute for Developing Economies.  1990-1991.  Senior Economist.  Worked with the regional division at Bappenas (national planning agency in Indonesia) on a review of the regional data bases, input-output tables, and policies, and integrated area development projects, including means to deal with regional development issues in Indonesia.

Cambridge Systematics, Inc. (CSI).  1983-1991.  Senior Economist.  Analyzed the economic impact of the changes in the U.S.-Canadian fishing boundary on the Nova Scotia and New England regions, using Canadian and U.S. regional input-output tables.  Reviewed the use of REMI by the CSI staff to determine economic impacts of Highway 29/45/10 Corridor Study in Wisconsin and investments by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.  Assisted with a study of economic impacts of highway investment in Finland.

UN Expert Group on Production Accounts.  1989.  Academic Representative to the expert group, which met in Vienna, Austria.  Discussed potential revisions to the input-output and production accounts in UN System of National Accounts.

World Bank, China Transportation and Energy Operations Division, 1988-1990.  Senior Economist.  Helped to develop methodologies for using the 1987 Chinese national and regional input-output tables for investment impact analysis, for transportation planning in the Yangtze Economic Zone, and for rail investment and coal transport studies.

Asian Development Bank and PACMAR consulting firm for the State Statistical Bureau, Beijing, People's Republic of China.  June 27-July 8, 1988.  Senior Economist.  Gave two weeks of lectures on the UN System of National Accounts to State and Provincial Statistical Bureau staff.

Development Alternatives, Inc. for Barani Area Development Project (UN Development Program, Asian Development Bank, and Punjab Provincial Government), Punjab province in Pakistan, June 1987-April 1988.  Senior Economic Planner.  Consulted on the economic section of the Master Plan for the Barani Area.  Helped to revise available data and policies.

CMT International for Kuwait Investment Authority, Kuwait, 1987-1988.  Senior Economist.  Consulted on the development of the Kuwaiti input-output accounts, social accounting matrix, and analyses of the construction sector.

Jack Faucett Associates, Inc.  1970-1985.  Senior Economist.  Conducted numerous joint research projects with their staff on economic accounting, environmental, and transportation issues, including assembly of 1963 and 1977 multiregional input-output accounts, 1977 state-to-state trade flows, and estimation of economic impacts in the Northeast of investment in Conrail.

Ministerio de Tranporte y Comunicaciones y Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela, June 1982.  Senior Economist.  Consulted on the multiregional input-output model for Venezuela.  Evaluated the table that had been constructed by the staff at the Instituto de Urbanismo.

Fundacion de Investigaciones Economicas Latinoamericanas, Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 1980.  Senior Economist.  Consulted on regional income-estimation project and evaluated ongoing work on the assembly of regional- income estimates.  Gave a series of five seminars on regional economic analysis.

YEKOM Economic Consultants, Tehran, Iran, 1977-1978.  Chief Economic Consultant.  Headed a project to assemble a consistent set of national Iranian statistics for 2352 (1973), including a national input-output table.  Began to plan for extension of the national table to a regional level, with interregional transportation flows.

Presentations at regional planning conferences and/or lectures.  The following countries:  Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, People's Republic of China (in 24 provinces), England, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, United States, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

 

 

SELECTED LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

Books

The Economic Geography of Innovation.  Forthcoming, Spring 2007 (Cambridge University Press) (Editor)

Technology-Energy-Environmental-Health (TEEH) Chain in China.  2006.  (Springer/Kluwer)  (Editor) Chinese translation to be published in 2007 by Higher Education Press, Beijing.

Chinese Economic Planning and Input-Output Analysis.  Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.  1991.  (Co-editor with Chen Xikang.)

Frontiers of Input-Output Analysis.  New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1989. (Co-editor with Ronald E. Miller and Adam Z. Rose). 

The U.S. Multiregional Input-Output Accounts and Model. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company, 1980.  Chinese translation published in 1990 by Liaoning Publishing House, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.

Advances in Input-Output Analysis.  Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company, 1976 (Co-editor with Jiri V. Skolka).

State Estimates of Technology, 1963.  Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company, 1974 (jointly with members of research staff).

Multiregional Input-Output Analysis.  Three volumes; Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company, 1972, 1972, 1973 (Editor).

State Estimates of the Gross National Product, 1947, 1958, 1963.
Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, D.C. Heath and Company, 1972 (jointly with members of research staff).

 

Selected Peer-Reviewed Papers, Book Chapters, and Reports authored or co-authored by Karen R. Polenske

Karen R. Polenske.  2006.  “Competition, Collaboration, and Cooperation: an Uneasy Triangle in Networks of Firms and Regions.”  In Regional Competitiveness, edited by Ron Martin, Martin Kitson, and Peter Tyler.  London: Routledge: 39-53.

Karen R. Polenske and Ali Shirvani-Mahdavi.  Submitted for Peer Review.  “Review of an Emissions Permit Exchange and the Characteristics of the RECLAIM Nox Market in Los Angeles.” 

Ciro Biderman, Karen R. Polenske, and Nicolas O. Rockler.  2005.  “Demand and Cost Impacts of the 2MM Technology Program in the U.S. Motor-Vehicle Market.” Vol. 14, No. 7 (October) Economics of Innovation and New Technology, pp. 637-655.

Karen R. Polenske.  2004.  “Comment on ‘World Poverty: Causes and Pathways’ by Partha Dasgupta and ‘Development Strategy: Transition and Challenges of Development in Lagging Regions’ by Justin Yifu Lin and Mingxing Liu.”  In Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics, 2004, edited by Francois Bourguignon and Boris Pleskovic.  Washington, DC: The World Bank, pp. 230-238.

Karen R. Polenske.  2004.  “Competition, Collaboration, and Cooperation: an Uneasy Triangle in Networks of Firms and Regions.”  Regional Studies, Special Issue on Regional Competitiveness. 38 (9) (December): 1029-1045.

Karen R. Polenske and Nicolas O. Rockler.  2004.  Closing the Competitive Gap: An Analysis of the ATP 2mm Project.  Prepared for the Economic Assessment Office, Advanced Technology Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST GCR 03-856.

Karen R. Polenske.  2004. Leontief’s Magnificent Machine and Other Contributions to Applied Economics.”  In Wassily Leontief and Input-Output Economics, edited by Erik Dietzenbacher and Michael L. Lahr.  Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, Ch. 2, pp. 9-26.  Presented at the 13th International Input-Output Conference, Macerata, Italy, August 23, 2000, revised from an earlier version given at the Allied Social Science Association (ASSA) meetings in Boston, MA, January 8, 2000, under the auspices of the Union of Radical Political Economists (URPE) and the 13th International Input-Output Conference, Macerata, Italy, August 22.

Yu Li and Karen R. Polenske.  2004.  “Measuring Dispersal Economies.”  Entrepreneurship, Spatial Industrial Clusters, and Inter-Firm Networks.  Trollhätten, Sweden: Universities of Trollhätten,/
      Uddevalla (Papers from June 12-14, 2003 Symposium):  615-633.

Karen R. Polenske and Geoffrey JD Hewings.  2004.  “Trade and Spatial Economic Inter-dependence.”  Papers in Regional Science.  83 (1): 269-289. 

Karen R. Polenske [reported by Nancy Stouffer].  2003.  “Cleaning Up China’s Cokemaking Sector: Unexpected Research Findings.” MIT Laboratory for Energy and Environment (LFEE) E-Lab Research Reports (April-June: 5-9.

Karen R. Polenske.  2003.  "Environmental Impacts of Energy-Efficient Technologies: Potential for Input-Output and Supply-Chain Analyses in Iran," Quarterly Iranian Economic Research, Special Issue on the Second Input-Output Conference,14: 1-26.

Steven Kraines, Takeyoshi Akatsuka, Larry Crissman, Karen R. Polenske, and Hiroshi Komiyama.  2003.  “Modeling Pollution and Cost in the Transportation Sector of the Cokemaking Industry in Shanxi Province, China.” Journal of Industrial Ecology, 6 (3-4): 161-184.

Karen R. Polenske.  2003.  “Clustering in Space Versus Dispersing Over Space: Agglomeration Versus Dispersal Economies,” Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Regional Development, and Public Policy in the Emerging Digital Economy.”  Trollhätten, Sweden: Universities of Trollhätten/Uddevalla (Papers from Symposium 2002), June 6-8: 393-411.

William P. Alford, Robert P. Weller Leslyn Hall, Karen R. Polenske, Yuanyuan Shen, and David Zweig.  2002.  “The Human Dimensions of Environmental Policy Implementation: Air Quality in Rural China.“  Journal of Contemporary China, II (32): 495-513.

Karen R. Polenske and Francis C. McMichael.  2002.  “A Chinese Cokemaking Process-Flow Model for Energy and Environmental Analyses.”  Energy Policy, Vol. 30, No. 10, pp. 865-883.  Presented under the title “How to Grow the Chinese Cokemaking Sector Cleanly” at the 13th International Input-Output Conference, Macerata, Italy, August 21, 2000, the Coke Conference 2000, Chicago, IL, October 11-13, 2000, and the North American Regional Science Association meetings, Chicago, IL, November 10-11, 2000.

Karen R. Polenske.  2001.  “Taking Advantage of a Region’s Competitive Assets: An Asset-Based Regional Economic-Development Strategy” In Entrepreneurship, Firm Growth, and Regional Development in the New Economic Geography.  Trollhätten, Sweden: Uddevalla Symposium 2000: 527-544.

Karen R. Polenske.  2001.  "Competitive Advantage of Regional Internal and External Supply Chains."  In Essays in Honor of Benjamin H. Stevens, edited by Michael Lahr and Ronald E. Miller, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Publishers, pp. 259-284.

Karen R. Polenske and He Shiqiang.   2001.  "Interregional Trade, the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek Theorem, and Leontief's Paradox."  In Input-Output Analysis: Frontiers and Extensions, Essays in Honor of Ronald E. Miller, edited by Erik Dietzenbacher and Michael Lahr.  New York: Macmillan: 161-186.

Karen R. Polenske.   2001. "Comparative Analyses of Carbon-Intensity Differences in Coal Consumption."  In Framing the Pacific in the 21st Century: Coexistence and Friction, edited by Daizaburo Yui and Yasuo Endo. Tokyo, Japan: Center for Pacific and American Studies, The University of Tokyo: 284-296.