Carmen Carrion Flores
- Ph.D., Economics. University of Arizona, 2007
- M.S., Agricultural Economics, The Ohio State University, 2001
- B.A., Economics. Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey, 199
- Environmental and natural resource economics
- Urban Economics
- Energy Economics, Labor Economics
Dr. Carrión Flores is an internationally recognized researcher in environmental, natural resources, energy efficiency, land use change, sustainability, innovation, and economic development. She uses spatial and dynamic econometric models to analyze the relevant effects of environmental, natural resources, energy, and climate policies on different outcomes, such as energy use, sustainability, and pollution.
A critical aspect of her research is to tackle relevant policy questions using an interdisciplinary approach. For instance, her research on Energy Star® lies in the interplay between economics and engineering. Engineers have continually pushed our technological boundaries to deliver energy-efficient appliances and houses. In controlled trials, those appliances and houses exhibit substantial energy savings. However, from a holistic point of view, the effectiveness of those technologies and related policies (e.g., ENERGY STAR©) should consider any economic or behavioral responses by the end consumers.
Her work has been published in a mixture of disciplinary and interdisciplinary academic journals, including the Journal of Environmental Economics and
Management, the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Ecological Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, and IZA Journal of Migration and Development. Dr. Carrión Flores has participated in more than ten proposals for interdisciplinary grants for prominent agencies, such as NSF, EPA, and USDA.
Prior to joining the Department of Economics at Western Michigan University in the Spring of 2025, she was at Syracuse University, Binghamton University and the University of Florida.