Longer Biography, Professor Steven C. Hackett

Dr. Hackett's educational background includes a Bachelor of Science (1983) in Agricultural Business from Montana State University, and a Master of Science (1986) and a Ph.D. (1989) in Economics from Texas A&M University. He began his career at the rank of Assistant Professor at Indiana University in Bloomington in 1989. He currently holds the rank of Professor of Economics at Humboldt State University (HSU), and served as the department's Chairperson between 2004 and 2006.

Early in his career Hackett's research was focused on the economic performance of contractual relationships, such as the social dilemmas associated with common-pool resources like oil and gas fields, groundwater basins, or marine fisheries. Self-interested or opportunistic behavior in these circumstances can result in inferior economic outcomes. He was particularly interested in the challenges of structuring successful agreements capable of preventing opportunistic behavior when stakeholders are heterogeneous, or have made prior relationship-specific investments. His research approaches involved developing theoretical models and evaluating testable hypotheses through the use of laboratory experimental methods. Another line of his research involved the use of economic modeling approaches to understand the political economy of environmental regulation. In several papers Hackett and collaborators investigated how voluntary actions by firms to limit pollution can have strategic value relative to competitors, or as a way of shaping future regulatory policy. In another line of research Hackett and colleagues developed a model for the partial deregulation of critical energy markets, such as for natural gas, and identfied some of the hazards associated with applying that model to electricity deregulation. Hackett's curiosity about contracting problems also resulted in papers on diverse topics such as revenue-sharing problems in medical group practices, and factors that influence foreign direct investment decisions by multinational firms. More recently Hackett has worked collaboratively on a number of projects addressing marine fishery economics and policy. In various projects he has analyzed California’s wetfish industry complex, California’s Dungeness crab fishery and processing sector, and is currently investigating the broader structure and impacts of California’s commercial fisheries. Hackett has also returned to energy economics, with a focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency. He is currently collaborating on a wave energy white paper for the California Ocean Protection Council, and will be analyzing renewable energy potential on several nortwestern California American Indian reservations.

Dr. Hackett has published in a variety of scholarly journals and edited volumes, including The Journal of Law and Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Economic Inquiry, Japan and the World Economy, the Journal of Theoretical Politics, the International Journal of the Economics of Business, The Encyclopedia of Globalization, Water: Science and Issues, Conservation Biology, California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations Reports, Marine Resource Economics, and California Agriculture. His research on California's Dungeness crab fishery (in collaboration with colleagues at HSU and at UC-Davis) received the 2005 gold award for best refereed journal article by the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals. He is author of the textbook Environmental and Natural Resources Economics: Theory, Policy and the Sustainable Society 3rd edition (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2006), which has been adopted at colleges and universities in the US and abroad. His research has been supported by extramural grants and contracts from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the California Sea Grant Program, the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Ocean Protection Council, the California Seafood Council, the California Integrated Waste Management Board, the HSU Foundation, and the Institute of the North Coast. In recognition of his research into regional economic issues, and what HSU President Rollin Richmond described as "the clarity and significance his work brings to global questions of environmental economics," Hackett was selected as Humboldt State University's Scholar of the Year for 2005.

Dr. Hackett has also been active in regional economic development. He is currently assisting the City of Rio Dell with their Economic Development Strategic Plan. Hackett led the process of developing the economic development element for the City of Fortuna's updated General Plan. He consulted with the California Integrated Waste Management Board on identifying markets for recycled materials. Hackett served as a senior consultant on the development of the City of Arcata's Economic Development Strategic Plan (2004), which won an American Planning Association award in 2005. He founded HSU's Office for Economic and Community Development (2002-03). He serves on the Board of Directors for the Center for Environmental Economic Development (CEED) in Arcata, and was co-author of the 2002 CEED report Reinvesting in Jobs, Communities and the Environment: Benefits and Costs of a Road Removal Program on National Forest Lands. He wrote a brief economic history of Humboldt County published in the Times Standard titled "The Humboldt County Economy: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?" (1998), elements of which were used in Prosperity! Humboldt County's Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. He co-founded the Index of Economic Activity for Humboldt County (1996), and in the 1990's served as Chair of the Economic Development Committee of the City of Arcata.