Christopher Costello

Professor, Bren School
photo of Christopher Costello

Christopher Costello is a professor of Environmental and Resource Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA, co-director of the Sustainable Fisheries Group, director of then Environmental Markets Solutions Lab, and a Research Associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research. Costello received his Ph.D from the University of California, Berkeley in 2000 and conducts research on natural resource economics and policy concerning property rights, with a focus on decision making under uncertainty, information, asset values, and natural resource scarcity. His work combines theoretical micro-economics with modeling and empirical analysis, often to inform policy on fisheries management, biological diversity, introduced species, industrial regulation, or marine policy. Costello partners with others to translate his research into on-the-ground action in several countries including Peru, Chile, Mexico, Cuba, Indonesia, China, and Cambodia.  Costello serves on several boards including Global Fishing Watch and Environmental Defense Fund’s Board of Trustees, and has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers in journals such as Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the 2016 winner of the Peter Benchley Award in Ocean Solutions.