Kathleen Lawlor

Kathleen Lawlor is an Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the MS in Environmental Resilience at the University of North Carolina Asheville, where she conducts research at the intersection of environmental policy, development economics, and social justice. Her work examines how climate interventions, forest conservation programs, and urban renewal policies impact vulnerable communities.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• M.E.M. from the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University
• B.A. from The College of William & Mary

Dr. Lawlor's research program investigates policy impacts through rigorous causal inference methods, with three dominant strands: (1) environmental conservation impacts on community livelihoods (particularly REDD+ forest carbon projects), (2) social protection programs for climate resilience (including cash transfers in Zambia), and (3) historical urban renewal effects on racial wealth gaps. Her approach consistently centers community perspectives while applying advanced microeconometric techniques.

Recent publications show increasing emphasis on racial justice in environmental planning, with 2024-2026 work analyzing urban renewal's legacy in Asheville. This builds on her longstanding focus on policy evaluation in developing contexts, demonstrating methodological evolution from tropical forest studies to domestic urban equity research while maintaining core expertise in impact assessment.

Dr. Lawlor teaches across the economics curriculum with specializations in environmental economics, econometrics, and poverty studies. She directs the MS in Environmental Resilience program, supervising graduate practicum projects that connect classroom learning with community-based climate resilience initiatives in Western North Carolina. Her courses emphasize practical policy analysis skills and the application of economic theory to real-world sustainability challenges.