Alex Anas

Professor Alex Anas is the Frank H. and Josephine L. Goodyear Professor of Economics at the University at Buffalo’s College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics. He has held this position since 1991, following faculty roles at Northwestern University (1975–1991) and visiting appointments at Stanford University (1981–1982) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1986–1988). His research focuses on urban and regional economics, computable general equilibrium models, and transportation policy.

Education:

• PhD, University of Pennsylvania (1975)
• MA and MCP (Master of City Planning), University of Pennsylvania (1974)
• BS and BA, Carnegie-Mellon University (1972)

Research Interests:

• Applied microeconomics
• Urban sprawl and transportation externalities
• Computable dynamic urban models (e.g., RELU-TRAN)
• Econometric analysis of urban policies
• Land value taxation and housing markets

Key Contributions:

• Developed the RELU-TRAN model, analyzing urban structure impacts of policies and infrastructure
• Recipient of NSF and EPA grants for Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris policy studies
• Earned the 2016 Walter Isard Award and 2006 induction into the Regional Science Association International

Grants & Awards:

• NSF Urban Research Initiative ($450k, 1999–2006)
• U.S. EPA Science to Achieve Results Program ($675k, 2004–2010)
• UC Multi-campus Research Initiative ($2.3M, 2010–present)

Labs/Teams: Primary developer of the RELU-TRAN modeling framework, used globally for urban policy analysis.