Bård Harstad is The David S. Lobel Professor in Business and Sustainability and Professor of Political Economy at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, with courtesy appointments in the Doerr School of Sustainability and the School of Humanities and Sciences (Economics). He joined Stanford in 2023 after previous faculty positions at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management (where he held the Max McGraw Chair in Management & Environment) and the University of Oslo. He has also taught at Harvard, MIT, and Toulouse School of Economics. His research centers on three interconnected domains: Environmental Economics : Climate policy design, conservation incentives, deforestation, and energy transitions. Political Economics : Treaty bargaining, international agreements, legislative gridlock, and policy enforcement. Economic Theory : Contract design, time inconsistency, and strategic behavior in regulatory frameworks. His work frequently examines how institutions and incentives shape global environmental outcomes. Harstad’s publications focus on climate governance, with recurring themes of self-enforcing agreements, supply-side policy interventions, and the political economy of conservation. Recent articles analyze trade-offs in energy transitions (e.g., natural gas vs. renewables), mechanisms for credible international commitments, and deforestation incentives linked to trade. His research combines theoretical rigor with policy-relevant applications, often using game-theoretic frameworks. He has received significant recognition, including: European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant (2022) and Consolidator Grant (2016–21) Elected fellowships in the Econometric Society (2021) and Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (2021) Multiple Erik Kempe Awards for environmental economics research Prizes from the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Harstad serves as Editor of the Review of Economic Studies and teaches courses on Strategy Beyond Markets, Political Economy, and Environmental Economics. He leads Stanford GSB’s executive program on Managing Risk and Reputation in a Complex World .











