Rich Howarth is an environmental and ecological economist who studies the interplay between economic analysis and the ecological, moral, and social dimensions of environmental governance. His topical interests focus on the valuation and management of ecosystem services; theories of discounting and intergenerational justice; climate stabilization policy; the ethical foundations of voluntary pro-environmental behaviors; and the relationship between economic growth, environmental quality, and human well-being as mediated by endogenous social norms.

Professor Howarth graduated summa cum laude from the Biology and Society Program at Cornell University (A.B., 1985) and holds an M.S. in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1987). He received his Ph.D. from the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California at Berkeley (1990), where he collaborated with Richard B. Norgaard on the economics of natural resources and sustainable development. Before joining Dartmouth’s faculty in 1998, Professor Howarth held research and teaching positions at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (1990-1993) and the University of California at Santa Cruz (1993-1998). From 2008 through 2022, he served as the Editor-in-Chief of Ecological Economics.