EPA Economic Modeling

EPA Economic Modeling

To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.

About the Role

The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment. EPA works to ensure that: Americans have clean air, land and water; National efforts to reduce environmental risks are based on the best available scientific information; Federal laws protecting human health and the environment are administered and enforced fairly, effectively and as Congress intended; Environmental stewardship is integral to U.S. policies concerning natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, and international trade, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy; All parts of society have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks; Contaminated lands and toxic sites are cleaned up; and chemicals in the marketplace are reviewed for safety.

OCAP develops national policies, regulations, and guidelines for ambient air quality standards and air pollution emissions standards. OCAP implements national and international programs for restoring the stratospheric ozone layer, phasing down hydrofluorocarbons, and meeting international treaty obligations.

Responsibilities

• Develop and document a set of generic partial equilibrium models that simulate the economic impact of stylized environmental regulations on affected and related industries. The models will be based on economic theory with the aim that model users can implement the models using industry-specific data and regulatory scenarios of interest.
• Contribute to the continued development of an EPA dynamic partial equilibrium model that simulates the impact of stylized environmental regulations on domestic and international oil and natural gas supply and demand decisions, regulatory costs, and emissions trajectories. An important feature on the supply side of the site-level modeling platform is that it models oil and natural gas well drilling and closure under uncertainty.
• Enhance existing models, tools, and methods for evaluating the economy-wide impacts of air pollution regulation and changes in energy production, such as computable general equilibrium models, power sector capacity expansion models, multi-sector energy system models, and linked models. Potential enhancements include the incorporation of new technologies, improvements to existing technologies (e.g., battery storage), model assessments (e.g., backcasting), and uncertainty analysis.
• Develop datasets and identification strategies to estimate supply, demand, and trade substitution elasticities from using publicly available data to provide behavioral parameters for industrial sector market equilibrium models.
• Incorporate criteria air pollutant productivity impacts in a forestry and agriculture partial equilibrium model and accompanying scenario development.
• Collaborate with Agency economists on study design and planning, data collection, and economic modeling and analysis.

Requirements

The research project will require collaborating with Agency economists on study design and planning, data collection, and economic modeling and analysis.

Qualifications

• The qualified candidate should be currently pursuing or have received a master's or doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields (e.g. economics, operations research, applied or computational mathematics, or data science).
• Anticipated appointment start date: August 1, 2026. All start dates are flexible and vary depending on numerous factors.
• Appointment length: The appointment will initially be for one year and may be renewed three to four additional years upon EPA recommendation and subject to availability of funding.
• Level of participation: The appointment is full time.
• Participant stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $52,693 - $77,983 annually.
• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 8/1/2026 12:00:00 AM.
• Discipline(s): Economics, Operations Research, Applied or Computational Mathematics, Data Science
• Veteran Status: Veterans Preference, degree received within the last 120 month(s).

Skills

• Demonstrated interest and technical skills in energy, environmental, or natural resource economics and policy, including demonstrated skills with quantitative methods in microeconomics, optimization, and econometrics.

Benefits

• Participants do not become employees of EPA, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits.
• Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.
• The ORISE GO mobile app helps you stay engaged, connected and informed during your ORISE experience – from application, to offer, through your appointment and even as an ORISE alum!

Pay

The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. The anticipated stipend range is $52,693 - $77,983 annually.

Schedule

The appointment will initially be for one year and may be renewed three to four additional years upon EPA recommendation and subject to availability of funding.