PEAK Staff Profile

Akira Maeda, BS, MS (U. Tokyo), MS, PhD (Stanford)
Professor – Environmental Sciences

Contact : maeda[at]global.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Profile

Akira Maeda Prof. Maeda is an economist whose expertise is in energy and environmental economics, financial economics, and microeconomic policy. Before his appointment at the University of Tokyo, he taught at Kyoto University from April 2004 to March 2011 and Keio University from April 1999 to March 2004. From October 2004 to April 2007, he served as a Research Fellow at the Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet office, Government of Japan. He also worked with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria as a Research Scholar in 2001. For the Fourth Assessment Report of the Working Group 3, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007, he served as an Expert Reviewer. His work experience in industry includes the Tokyo Electric Power Company from April 1990 to December 1996. He holds Ph.D. and M.S. in Engineering–Economic Systems and Operations Research from Stanford University (April 1999; June 1996), and M.S. and B.S. in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from the University of Tokyo (March 1990; March 1988).

Research Interests

Prof. Maeda’s research interest centers on microeconomic theory and its applications to energy and environmental policies, in particular climate change policy. His recent book, Environmental Economics and Policy in Nikkei’s “Seminar Series” (2010: Nikkei Publishing Inc.; in Japanese) provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject. He is also the author of The Economics of Emissions Trading (2009: Iwanami Shoten, Publishers), Economic Theory of Capital Asset Markets (2003: Tokyo Keizai Inc.), and A First Course in Managerial Economics (2003: Keio University Press) (all in Japanese). He is a coauthor of Innovation in Energy Technology: Comparing National Innovation Systems at the Sectoral Level by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), OECD Publishing (2006) (Chapter 6: pp. 161-180). He serves as editorial board members to academic journals, including an associate editor of the journal of Energy Economics.

Selected Publications

“Setting Trigger Price in Emissions Permit Markets Equipped with a Safety Valve Mechanism.” Maeda, A., Journal of Regulatory Economics 41(3): 358-379. 2012.
“Equilibrium Pricing of Contingent Claims in Tradable Permit Markets.” Kijima, M., A. Maeda, and K. Nishide, Journal of Futures Markets 30(6): 559-589. 2010.
“Optimal Lottery Design for Public Financing.” Maeda, A., Economic Journal 118 (October): 1698-1718. 2008.
“On the Oil Price-GDP Relationship.” Maeda, A., The Japanese Economy 35(1): 99-127. 2008.
“The Emergence of Market Power in Emission Rights Markets: The Role of Initial Permit Distribution.” Maeda, A., Journal of Regulatory Economics 24(3): 293-314. 2003.