Barry Rabe examines environmental and climate politics in the United States and other federal or multi-level political systems such as Canada and the European Union. This includes ongoing exploration of the political feasibility of adopting and sustaining market-based policies such as carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems, including emerging cross-border carbon adjustment mechanisms. He also studies the politics of addressing short-lived climate pollutants, including methane and hydrofluorocarbons.
Rabe is the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He also holds a university-wide Arthur Thurnau Professorship in recognition of his contributions to undergraduate education. His books include “Trump, the Administrative Presidency, and Federalism” (Brookings Press, 2020), “Can We Price Carbon?” (MIT Press, 2018), “Greenhouse Governance” (Brookings Press, 2010), “Statehouse and Greenhouse“(Brookings Press, 2004), and “Beyond NIMBY“ (Brookings Press, 1994). He co-edits an environmental politics and policy textbook with Michael Kraft, including a newly-revised edition released by CQ/SAGE in 2024. Rabe has received four research awards from the American Political Science Association, including the 2017 Martha Derthick Award (named for a former Governance Studies director) for authoring a book that has made an enduring impact on the study of federalism, in honor of “Statehouse and Greenhouse.” He has also received recent research honors from the National Academy of Public Administration and the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration.
Rabe regularly advises elected and appointed governmental officials across governmental levels in the United States and abroad. As an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, he has served on panels advising the Secretaries of Commerce and Interior and the Governor of Oklahoma. He was the first social scientist to receive a Climate Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and co-chaired an EPA advisory board during the Obama Administration. Rabe is regularly quoted and cited in the media, including recent coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Economist, and E&E News.
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Areas of Expertise
- Climate and environmental politics and policy; federalism and intergovernmental relations; state politics and policy; public management and policy implementation
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Current Positions
- J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Environmental Policy, University of Michigan
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Education
- B.A. Carthage College, History
- M.A., Ph.D. University of Chicago, Political Science