Dr Robert (Bob) Hahn – 60 Second Interview

Bob Hahn

Who are you? My name is Bob Hahn. I’m a Senior Fellow at the Georgetown Centre for Business and Public Policy.

Where have you joined the Smith School from? I co-founded the AEI-Brookings Joint Centre for Regulatory Studies, which I ran for a decade.

What is your area of research? Regulation, Innovation, Energy and Environment, Internet.

How did you get into your area of research? I got into these areas because economics provides a useful lens for studying them, and I think they could have a big impact on consumer welfare.

What will you be/ are you working on at the moment? Working on several papers on the environment and energy, and the Internet, and also thinking hard about how to get governments to address long-term challenges more effectively.

Describe the Smith School in one sentence? A great place for fostering interdisciplinary research – thanks in large part to the efforts of Dave King.

What is the most interesting development in your field today? Rethinking appropriate regulation in light of the recent financial debacle.

What do you think is the simplest, but most effective way for businesses to tackle climate change? There is no simple answer to that question – perhaps setting an example by their actions and lobbying governments for better policies.