As an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, Daniel Matisoff was intrigued by the ability of economic markets to help solve environmental problems. “Learning about the regulatory role of governments in cap-and-trade markets for reducing carbon emissions shaped my career path,” says Matisoff, a professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy and EPIcenter faculty affiliate. “It helped me decide to enter academia after earning my PhD in public policy at Indiana University, where I compared voluntary and mandatory emission reduction policies.”

Today, Matisoff continues research activities in this space and also directs a professional master’s program whose graduates help implement environmental policies in the public and private sector. Soon after joining the Georgia Tech faculty in 2009, he began to focus on market transformation through regulation, government subsidies and other financial incentives. 

This led to an award-winning 2023 book about the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program. It sparked the construction industry’s green building movement and incentivized early adopters of sustainable technology to create new supply chains. For Matisoff, LEED is a perfect example of using governance as a lever for environmental change. 

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