Solomon Hsiang

Solomon Hsiang directs the Global Policy Laboratory at Berkeley, where his team is integrating econometrics, spatial data science, and machine learning to answer questions that are central to managing global resources. 

Hsiang earned a BS in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science and a BS in Urban Studies and Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he received a PhD in Sustainable Development from Columbia University. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Applied Econometrics at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at Princeton University.

Hsiang is currently the Thomas and Alison Schneider Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, a Co-Director at the Climate Impact Lab, co-founder of mosaiks.org, Research Associate at the NBER, and a National Geographic Explorer. Hsiang is currently the Lead Author of the Economics chapter for the Fifth National Climate Assessment.

Learn how you can get involved at the Global Policy Laboratory.

personal page: here

complete list of publications: here

photos: i, ii, iii, iv

Photo by Brittany Murphy

Selected Publications

DSCIM-Coastal v1. 0: An Open-Source Modeling Platform for Global Impacts of Sea Level Rise
Depsky, Bolliger, Allen, Choi, Delgado, Greenston, Hamidi, Houser, Kopp, Hsiang, Geoscientific Model Development (2023)

Valuing the Global Mortality Consequences of Climate Change Accounting for Adaptation Costs and Benefits
Carleton, Jina, Delgado, Greenston, Houser, Hsiang, Hultgren, Kopp, McCusker, Nath, Rising, Rode, Seo, Viaene, Yuan, Zhang, Quarterly Journal of Economics (2022)

Estimating a social cost of carbon for global energy consumption
Rode, Carleton, Delgado, Greenstone, Houser, Hsiang, Hultgren, Jina, Kopp, McCusker, Nath, Rising, Yuan Nature (2021)

A Generalizable and Accessible Approach to Machine Learning with Global Satellite Imagery
Rolf, Proctor, Carleton, Bolliger, Shankar, Ishihara, Recht, Hsiang, Nature Communications (2021)

The effect of large-scale anti-contagion policies on the COVID-19 pandemic
Hsiang, Allen, Annan-Phan, Bell, Bolliger, Chong, Druckenmiller, Hultgren, Yue Huang, Krasovich, Lau, Lee, Rolf, Tseng, Wu, Nature (2020)

Strengthened scientific support for the Endangerment Finding for atmospheric greenhouse gases
Duffy, Field, Diffenbaugh, Doney, Dutton, Goodman, Heinzerling, Hsiang, Lobell, Mickley, Myers, Natali, Parmesan, Tierney, Williams, Science (2019)

The Distribution of Environmental Damages
Hsiang, Walker, Oliva, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy (2019)

An Economist’s Guide to Climate Change Science
Hsiang & Kopp, Journal of Economic Perspectives (2018)

Estimating global agricultural effects of geoengineering using volcanic eruptions
Proctor, Hsiang, Burney, Burke, Schlenker, Nature (2018)

Higher temperatures increase suicide rates in the United States and Mexico
Burke, González, Baylis, Heft-Neal, Baysan, Basu, Hsiang, Nature Climate Change (2018)

Estimating economic damage from climate change in the United States
Hsiang, Kopp, Jina, Rising, Delgado, Mohan, Rasmussen, Muir-Wood, Wilson, Oppenheimer, Larsen, Houser, Science (2017)

Social and economic impacts of climate
Carleton & Hsiang, Science (2016)

Climate Econometrics
Hsiang, Annual Review of Resource Economics (2016)

Potentially Extreme Population Displacement and Concentration in the Tropics Under Non-Extreme Warming
Hsiang & Sobel, Scientific Reports (2016)

Global Non-linear Effect of Temperature on Economic Production
Burke, Hsiang, Miguel, Nature (2015)

Tropical Economics
Hsiang & Meng, American Economic Review (2015)

Geography, Depreciation, and Growth
Hsiang & Jina, American Economic Review (2015)

Nonlinear permanent migration response to climatic variations but minimal response to disasters
Bohra-Mishra, Oppenheimer, Hsiang, PNAS (2014)

Reconciling disagreement over climate–conflict results in Africa
Hsiang, Meng, PNAS (2014)

Quantifying the Influence of Climate on Human Conflict
Hsiang, Burke, Miguel, Science (2013)

Using Weather Data and Climate Model Output in Economic Analyses of Climate Change
Auffhammer, Hsiang, Schlenker, Sobel, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy (2013)

Civil Conflicts are associated with the global climate
Hsiang, Meng, Cane, Nature (2011)

Temperatures and cyclones strongly associated with economic production in the Caribbean and Central America
Hsiang, PNAS (2010)

Selected Working Papers

Using satellite imagery and deep learning to evaluate the impact of anti-poverty programs
Huang, Hsiang, Gonzalez-Navarro, NBER working paper 29105 (2021)

Destructive Behavior, Judgement, and Economic Decision-Making Under Thermal Stress
Almås, Auffhammer, Bold, Bolliger, Dembo, Hsiang, Kitamura, Miguel, Pickmans, NBER working paper 25785 (2019)

Spatial Correlation, Trade, and Inequality: Evidence from the Global Climate
Dingle, Meng, Hsiang, NBER working paper 25447 (2019)

Accounting for Unobservable Heterogeneity in Cross Section Using Spatial First Differences
Druckenmiller, Hsiang, NBER working paper 25177 (2018)

The Marginal Product of Climate
Deryugina, Hsiang, NBER working paper 24072 (2017)

Does Legalization Reduce Black Market Activity? Evidence from a Global Ivory Experiment and Elephant Poaching Data
Hsiang, Sekar, NBER working paper 22314 (2016)

The Causal Effect of Environmental Catastrophe on Long-Run Economic Growth: Evidence From 6,700 Cyclones
Hsiang, Jina, NBER Working Paper 20352 (2014)

Destruction, Disinvestment, and Death: Economic and Human Losses Following Environmental Disaster
Anttila-Hughes, Hsiang, (2012) 

Book

economicrisksofclimatechange.jpg
Economic Risks of Climate Change: An American Prospectus
By Trevor Houser, Solomon Hsiang, Robert Kopp, Kate Larsen, Michael Delgado, Amir Jina, Michael Mastrandrea, Shashank Mohan, Robert Muir-Wood, D. J. Rasmussen, James Rising, Paul Wilson