Daniel Matisoff

Professor, Director of MSEEM Program

Member Of:
  • School of Public Policy
  • Climate and Energy Policy Laboratory
Email Address:
matisoff@gatech.edu
Fax Number:
404-385-0504
Office Location:
DM Smith 308

Overview

Daniel Matisoff teaches and conducts research in the areas of public policy, energy policy, and corporate sustainability. His research focuses on the effectiveness and efficiency of comparative approaches to addressing environmental problems and the adoption and diffusion of energy technologies and policies. He currently is a faculty fellow with the Brook Byers Institute for Sustainability, the Energy Policy and Innovation Center, and serves on the faculty advisory board of the Strategic Energy Institute. He has participated in over $6 million of sponsored research through the National Science Foundation, the European Union Center for Excellence, the German Academic Exchange Service, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and the National Electric Energy Testing Research and Applications Center, among other philanthropies and funded research. His recent research has resulted in publications in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Environmental Research Letters, the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Economic Inquiry, the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Environmental and Resource Economics, Energy Economics, Environmental Science and Technology, Energy Policy, and Business Strategy and the Environment, among other outlets. His current research interests include: evaluating the effectiveness of voluntary eco-labeling programs; the effectiveness of incentives for solar electricity; the adoption of smart grid technologies and policies; and the impact of large scale solar adoption on consumer rates and bills.

Education:
  • PhD, Indiana University, Public Policy
  • BA, University of Pennsylvania, Economics and International Relations
Areas of
Expertise:
  • Corporate Sustainability
  • Energy Policy
  • Environmental Policy

Interests

Research Fields:
  • Clean Energy
  • Energy Markets
  • Energy, Climate and Environmental Policy
  • Innovation and Diffusion
  • Market-based Incentives
  • Smart Grid
  • Voluntary Programs
Issues:
  • Energy
  • Environment
  • Policy Analysis

Courses

  • POL-1101: Government of the U.S.
  • PUBP-2698: Research Assistantship
  • PUBP-3350: Energy Policy
  • PUBP-3600: Sustain,Tech & Policy
  • PUBP-6012: Fund of Policy Processes
  • PUBP-6350: Energy Policy & Markets
  • PUBP-6360: Sust Energy & Env Mgmt
  • PUBP-8540: Adv Environmental Policy

Selected Publications

Books

Journal Articles

  • Electricity Consumption Changes Following Solar Adoption: Testing for a Solar Rebound
    In: Economic Inquiry [Peer Reviewed]
    Date: January 2023

    We use household level data to explore residential electricity use patterns following installation of solar panels. Solar adoption leads to an increase in total electricity consumption relative to a matched non-adopting control group. Our point estimate translates to a rebound effect of 28.5%, suggesting that nearly a third of the electricity produced by a customer’s solar panels is used for increased energy services, rather than reduced grid electricity consumption. We explore several potential drivers of an increase in electricity consumption. These results have important implications for electricity planning and policy, suggesting that rooftop solar stimulates additional demand for electricity.

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  • A framework for localizing global climate solutions and their carbon reduction potential
    In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [Peer Reviewed]
    Date: May 2021

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  • Impacts of Pilot and Demonstration Projects: Evidence from Green Building
    In: Journal of Policy Analysis and Management [Peer Reviewed]
    Date: May 2020

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  • A Review of Barriers in Implementing Dynamic Electricity Pricing to Achieve Cost-Causality
  • In the LEED: Racing to the Top in Environmental Self-Regulation
    In: Business Strategy and the Environment [Peer Reviewed]
    Date: 2020

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  • The Comparative Effectiveness of Residential Solar Incentives
  • Peak Shifting and Cross-Class Subsidization: The Impacts of Solar PV on Changes in Electricity Costs
  • Policy Monitor—Green Buildings: Economics and Policies
    In: Review of Environmental Economics and Policy [Peer Reviewed]
    Date: July 2016

    This article presents an overview of green building economics and policies through a survey of theoretical and empirical evidence concerning green building practices. We define green building policy as policies that affect the entire life of the building, from design and construction to operation and deconstruction. We examine the economics of green buildings in the United States, with particular emphasis on market failures in the building sector such as information problems and externalities. We also discuss how policy instruments are used to address these market failures. We present original data on the types and potential impacts of these policy instruments in the United States, along with a brief review of international green building programs. We conclude by describing challenges for the empirical study of green buildings and priorities for future research and policy in this area.

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  • Performance or marketing benefits? the case of LEED certification
    In: Environmental Science and Technology [Peer Reviewed]
    Date: February 2014

    Green building adoption is driven by both performance-based benefits and marketing based benefits. Performance based benefits are those that improve performance or lower operating costs of the building or of building users. Marketing benefits stem from the consumer response to green certification. This study illustrates the relative importance of the marketing based benefits that accrue to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) buildings due to green signaling mechanisms, specifically related to the certification itself are identified. Of course, all participants in the LEED certification scheme seek marketing benefits. But even among LEED participants, the interest in green signaling is pronounced. The green signaling mechanism that occurs at the certification thresholds shifts building patterns from just below to just above the threshold level, and motivates builders to cluster buildings just above each threshold. Results are consistent across subsamples, though nonprofit organizations appear to build greener buildings and engage in more green signaling than for-profit entities. Using nonparametric regression discontinuity, signaling across different building types is observed. Marketing benefits due to LEED certification drives organizations to build "greener" buildings by upgrading buildings at the thresholds to reach certification levels. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

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  • Convergence in environmental reporting: Assessing the carbon disclosure project
    In: Business Strategy and the Environment [Peer Reviewed]
    Date: July 2013

    We perform content analysis on Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) responses from 2003 to 2010, focusing on the extent to which firms account for indirect emissions and have exhibited convergence in carbon reporting. We also examine standardization in reporting and the variation of reporting behavior across industry and country. We find that the CDP has produced a mixed record of improved transparency. In some areas, such as Scope 2 emissions, the CDP has demonstrated an increase in transparency in later years. However, the transparency and quality of direct emissions and Scope 3 emissions have not improved over time. Japanese and European Union firms have increased transparency, while American firms have decreased transparency. Energy-intensive industries have either increased transparency or remained the same, while less energy-intensive industries have become less transparent. We demonstrate some evidence of a learning effect among firms after participating in the CDP survey. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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Chapters

Recent Publications

Books

Journal Articles