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Jeffrey R. Vincent, Korstian Distinguished Professor in Forest Economics and Management in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences  

Office Location: 4108 Grainger Hall, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
Duke Box: 90328
Email Address: jeff.vincent@duke.edu

Areas of Expertise

  • Environment and Energy, Environmental Law, Regulation and Policy

Education:
Ph.D., Yale University, 1988
M.S., Michigan State University, 1984
AB, Harvard University

Research Categories: economics of natural resource management and policy in developing countries, with an emphasis on forests, agriculture, and water in Asia.

Teaching (Spring 2025):

  • Environ 531l.001, Econ valuation of the environ Synopsis
    Grainger 1111, TuTh 01:25 PM-02:40 PM
  • Environ 531l.01l, Econ valuation of the environ Synopsis
    Grainger 1111, Th 03:05 PM-04:20 PM
  • Environ 898.01, Program area seminar Synopsis
    Grainger 2102, Th 04:40 PM-05:55 PM

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. Busch, J; Bukoski, JJ; Cook-Patton, SC; Griscom, B; Kaczan, D; Potts, MD; Yi, Y; Vincent, JR. "Cost-effectiveness of natural forest regeneration and plantations for climate mitigation." Nature Climate Change 14.9 (September, 2024): 996-1002. [doi]  [abs]
  2. "A mix of reforestation methods offers more cost-effective climate mitigation." Nature Climate Change 14.9 (September, 2024): 903-904. [doi]
  3. Williams, BA; López-Cubillos, S; Ochoa-Quintero, JM; Crouzeilles, R; Villa-Piñeros, M; Isaacs Cubides, PJ; Schmoeller, M; Marin, W; Tedesco, A; Bastos, D; Suárez-Castro, AF; Romero Jiménez, LH; Broadbent, EN; Almeyda Zambrano, AM; Vincent, JR; Yi, Y; Chazdon, RL; Watson, JEM; Urbano, EAN; Rodriguez, CAC; Beyer, HL. "Bringing the forest back: Restoration priorities in Colombia." Diversity and Distributions 30.4 (April, 2024). [doi]  [abs]
  4. Ashton, MS; Martin, MP; Vincent, JR. "People today who plant trees successfully do it for livelihoods and income not for biodiversity or climate mitigation." Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 7 (January, 2024). [doi]
  5. Holl, KD; Bukoski, JJ; Curran, SR; Potts, MD; Vincent, JR. "Abandoned land: Overestimated potential.." Science (New York, N.Y.) 381.6655 (July, 2023): 277-278. [doi]

Curriculum Vitae

Highlight:

Jeffrey R. Vincent is an economist who works mainly on forest policy issues in low- and middle-income countries. Over his career, he has blended academic research, teaching, and administration; leadership of large, donor-funded policy-advising projects; and capacity-building and mid-career training. Prior to joining Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment in 2007, he held positions at the University of California, San Diego (School of International Relations & Pacific Studies), Harvard University (Institute for International Development), and Michigan State University (Department of Forestry). His current research focuses on the economics of forest restoration, with a primary emphasis on countries in Asia. His past research has addressed various topics, including the tropical timber trade, forest concession policies, biodiversity conservation, the effects of air pollution and climate change on agriculture, green accounting, and valuation of forest ecosystem services. He received the McKinsey Award for the most significant article published in the Harvard Business Review in 2003 and the Cozzarelli Prize for the best article in applied biological, agricultural, and environmental sciences published in PNAS in 2006. He is a Fellow at the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics in Stockholm, Sweden and the South Asian Network of Development and Environmental Economists in Kathmandu, Nepal and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Cambridge University Press journal, Environment and Development Economics.

Bio/Profile
Jeffrey R. Vincent is the Clarence F. Korstian Professor of Forest Economics and Management in the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University. Vincent’s research focuses on the economics of natural resource management and policy in developing countries. Currently, his two main projects are a 5-year project with the Forest Research Institute Malaysia on biodiversity conservation in tropical landscapes affected by commercial logging, and an ongoing project on the joint impacts of brown clouds and greenhouse gases on climate change, water, and agriculture in South Asia.

He has also worked extensively on the adjustment of national income and wealth accounts for resource depletion. Vincent’s books include the Handbook of Environmental Economics (North-Holland, three volumes, 2003, 2005) and Managing Natural Wealth: Environment and Development in Malaysia (RFF Press, 2005). His articles have appeared in environmental economics journals, including the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Land Economics, and Environmental and Resource Economics; economic development journals, including the World Bank Economic Review, Economic Development and Cultural Change, and World Development; forestry journals, including Forest Science and the Journal of Forestry; and general science journals, such as Science. He received the Cozzarelli Prize for the best article in applied biological, agricultural, and environmental sciences published in the Proceedings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2006 and the McKinsey Award for the most significant article published in the Harvard Business Review in 2003.

Vincent serves on the board of the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics in Stockholm, Sweden, and the international advisory committees of the South Asian Network of Development and Environmental Economists (SANDEE) and the Center for Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa (CEEPA). He consults regularly for the World Bank and other international organizations. He has directed or worked on projects in Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Prior to joining Duke in July 2007, he held positions in the Graduate School of International Relations & Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego (2001-7); the Institute for International Development at Harvard University (1990-2001); and the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University (1987-90). He has degrees from Yale University (Ph.D., 1988), Michigan State University (M.S., 1984), and Harvard University (A.B., 1981).

Jeffrey R. Vincent