Nancy Brooks

Nancy Brooks's research centers on policy-oriented theoretical and empirical microeconomics with a focus on environmental and urban/regional economics. Her research has a multidisciplinary focus that overlaps with geography, regional science, and sociology. A common thread that weaves through her work is the investigation of the implications for both equity and efficiency of the market failure typically known as an externality.

Brooks received a B.A. in economics from the College of William and Mary and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

"My main commitment as a scholar has been primarily about studying inequities that arise from market externalities. While my training is in economics, my research interests have always related to issues of importance to cities and planners."

Academic Research/Specialty Areas

  • Economic development 
  • Regional science
  • Environmental policy and planning
  • Spatial analytics
  • Urban economics
  • Location theory

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Classes (Selected)

  • CRP 5120 Public and Spatial Economics for PlannersThis courses covers the microeconomic theory necessary to understand the many applications of economics presented in subsequent courses you will take as a planning student. The primary learning goals of this course are (1) to understand the core concepts of microeconomics especially as they relate to planning issues and (2) to develop your analytical problem solving skills.
  • CRP 5450 Inferential Statistics for Planning and Public PolicyThis course is an introduction to the inferential statistical methods and econometrics/regression analysis needed to understand empirical public policy and planning research and to do basic applied policy analysis. The statistical concepts are illustrated using data and examples primarily from the fields of public policy and planning.
  • CRP 5040/4040 Urban EconomicsThis course introduces the concepts and methods used by economists to study not only cities, regions and their relationships with each other, but, more generally, the spatial aspects and outcomes of decision-making by households and firms. Areas examined include determinants of urban growth and decline, land and housing markets, transportation issues, segregation and poverty, and the allocation and distribution of urban public services.

Publications (Selected)

  • Brooks, Nancy, and Stephanie Seguino. "Driving while Black and Brown in Vermont: Can Race Data Analysis Contribute to Reform?" Review of Black Political Economy (2020)
  • Brooks, Nancy, Kieran Donaghy, and Gerrit-Jan Knaap. "The Oxford Handbook of Urban Economics and Planning." Oxford: Oxford University Press (2012)
  • Brooks, Nancy, and Richard Schramm. "Integrating Economics Research, Education, and Service." The Journal of Economic Education 38, no. 1 36-43 (2007)
  • Brooks, Nancy, and Rajiv Sethi. "The Distribution of Pollution: Community Characteristics and Exposure to Air Toxics." Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 32, no. 2 233-250 (1997)
  • Brooks, Nancy. "The effects of community characteristics on community social behavior." Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 44, no. 3 249-267 (2001)
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