Biography

Benjamin Leard is an assistant professor in the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs as well as the Haslam College of Business economics department at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research focuses on transportation and energy policy, climate economics, and environmental regulation, with an emphasis on consumer behavior, market design, and vehicle standards. 

Prior to joining the Baker School, he served as a Fellow at Resources for the Future (2014–2020) and was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UTK (2020–2024). 

His scholarship has been published in top journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of the European Economic Association, and Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. He has contributed to major policy conversations on electric vehicle adoption, fuel economy standards, and carbon offset markets. 

Leard’s work has been supported by organizations including the Sloan Foundation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Resources for the Future. He has also served as a journal reviewer for over 30 academic publications. Leard currently sits on the editorial council of the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. 

At the University of Tennessee, Leard teaches graduate and undergraduate courses. He focuses on public sector economics, climate and energy policy, empirical industrial organization, and environmental economics. He also actively mentors graduate students and serves on dissertation committees across multiple universities. 

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Education

• B.S., Economics and Mathematics, James Madison University
• Ph.D., Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University

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Publications

Should Electric Vehicle Purchase Subsidies be Linked with Scrappage Requirements?

Trends in Scrappage and Survival of U.S. Light-duty Vehicles (with David Greene)