Andrew Ayres

Andrew Ayres is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and a Research Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). His research focuses on environmental and natural resource economics, institutional economics, and water policy, particularly addressing groundwater management, institutional design, and the impacts of climate change. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and Environmental Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara (joint with the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management) and a B.A. in Economics from Pomona College.

His work examines how legal and economic institutions influence resource management in river basins, with recent emphasis on groundwater sustainability plans, water markets, and fallowed agricultural lands. He has contributed to policy development in California regarding water trading, groundwater banking, and multi-benefit agricultural planning. Prior to academia, he worked at the Environmental Defense Fund and served as a Fulbright Fellow in Germany, focusing on climate change and water pricing.

Key research themes include transaction costs in collective action, the effectiveness of environmental markets, and the intersection of land use, air quality, and water policy. His publications span journals like the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management and the Public Policy Institute of California reports. He teaches Principles of Microeconomics at UNR and collaborates with institutions to advance sustainable resource management strategies.