Professor Bailis’s research interests focus on sustainability, resource use, and environmental change in the developing world. He explores these issues principally, though not exclusively, in the context of energy. Professor Bailis became interested in the intersection of energy, society, and environment while working as a teacher in the U.S. Peace Corps in a remote community in northwestern Kenya. He uses an interdisciplinary approach that places equal emphasis on qualitative and quantitative methods across a range of scales, from local to regional and global. Past research efforts explored the social ecology of Kenya’s charcoal commodity chain and examined the health and welfare implications of household energy choices in the developing world. He continues to be involved in household energy research. We talk with Professor Bailis about the governance of the emerging biofuel economy.
