Rebecca Livernois

Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto

r.livernois [at] utoronto.ca  |  My CV can be found here.

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I am a philosopher of economics and of the environment with interests that range over conceptual and methodological debates. I received my Ph.D. in philosophy and my M.A. in economics both from the University of British Columbia. I completed my B.A. with a double major in economics and philosophy at the University of Guelph in my hometown of Guelph, Ontario. 

I am particularly interested in public policy that is guided by economic principles. My current research is focused on analyzing various methods economists use to estimate the value of a specific externality with the aim of informing public policy, including the use of integrated assessment models to estimate the social cost of carbon. I question both the extent to which the justifications for certain policies, which are developed in economic theory, carry over to a real-world setting and the extent to which these policies are ethically justifiable.

In my dissertation, I examine the theoretical foundations of market-based policies and cost-benefit analysis and argue that both fall short of delivering results that could forge sound environmental policy. In particular, I offer a conceptual clarification of the concept of an externality as it is treated in contemporary microeconomic theory. I argue that this concept is ambiguous in a way that renders problematic certain policies, such as a carbon tax, that are intended to internalize an externality.

In “Regretful Decisions and Climate Change” (2018) I argue that the peculiar cost structure of climate change could impede the effective use of cost-benefit analysis in addressing the accumulating harms that are generated by climate change.