Roy Brouwer | Economics | University of Waterloo

MSc Agricultural Economics
(Wageningen Agricultural University, NL)

PhD Environmental Economics
(University of East Anglia, UK)

Areas of specialization: environmental economics, water economics

Research interests

I have a broad interest in environmental economics to support sustainable development and natural resource management in developed and developing countries. My main research expertise is in the field of water resource economics, in particular water resources valuation, hydro-economic modelling and water policy instruments. In the department of Economics, I teach two courses at undergraduate and graduate level: Climate Change Economics and Water Resource Economics.

Biography

Before joining the department of Economics at the University of Waterloo, I was Chair of the department Environmental Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Since 1 January 2016 I am the Executive Director of the Water Institute at the University of Waterloo where I also lead the Water Economics Research Group. In 2018, I was appointed University Research Chair in Water Resource Economics, in 2021 I received the Faculty of Arts Award for Excellence in Research, and in 2024 I co-authored the book on resource recovery that won the International Water Association (IWA) Best Scientific Book Prize. I am a member of the International Scientific Advisory Committee of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Science Advisory Board, and I am the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Elsevier journal Water Resources and Economics.

Selected publications

Ortuzar, I., Serrano, A., Xabadia, A., Brouwer, R. Balancing efficiency and inequality in a non-linear multi-regional water allocation optimization model. Environmental and Resource Economics, 88, 761-794, (2025).
Dugstad, A., Brouwer, R., Grimsrud, K., Kipperberg, G., Lindhjem, H., Navrud, S. “Nature is ours! Psychological ownership and preferences for wind energy”. Energy Economics, 129, 107239, (2024).
Brouwer, R. et al. “Spatial optimization of nutrient reduction measures on agricultural land to improve water quality: A coupled modeling approach”. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 71(3-4): 329-353, (2023).
Liu, H. and Brouwer, R. “What is the future of water quality trading?” Contemporary Economic Policy, 41(1): 194-217, (2023).
Mitra, A., Balasubramanya, S., Brouwer, R. “Can cash incentives modify groundwater pumping behaviors? Evidence from an experiment in Punjab”. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 105(3): 861-887, (2023).
Pan, Z., Brouwer, R., Emelko, M. “Correlating forested green infrastructure to water rates and adverse water quality incidents: A spatial instrumental variable regression model”. Journal of Forest Policy and Economics, 140: 102756, (2022).
Liu, H. and Brouwer, R. “Incentivizing the future adoption of best management practices on agricultural land to protect water resources: The role of past participation and experiences”. Ecological Economics, 196, 107389, (2022).
Garcia, J. and Brouwer, R. "A multiregional input-output optimization model to assess the economic impacts of water supply disruptions in the Great Lakes Basin". Economic Systems Research,33(4): 509-535, (2021).
Pan, Z. and Brouwer, R. "A theoretical modeling framework to support investment decisions in green and grey infrastructure under risk and uncertainty". Journal of Forest Economics,36(4): 407-440, (2021).
Dai, D., Brouwer, R. and Kun, L. "Measuring the economic value of urban river restoration". Ecological Economics, 190: 107186, (2021).
Brouwer, R. and Tarfasa, S. "Testing hypothetical bias in a framed field experiment". Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 68(3): 343-357, (2020).
Logar, I., Brouwer, R. and Campbell, D. "Does attribute order influence attribute information processing in discrete choice experiments?". Resource and Energy Economics, 60: 101164, (2020).
Brouwer, R. and Neverre, N. "A global meta-analysis of groundwater quality valuation studies". European Review of Agricultural Economics, 47(3): 893-932, (2020).
Schaafsma, M. and Brouwer, R. "Substitution effects in spatially explicit discrete choice experiments". Environmental and Resource Economics, 75(2): 323-349, (2020).
Eamen, L., Brouwer, R. and Razavi, S. "The economic impacts of water supply restrictions due to climate and policy change: a transboundary river basin supply-side input-output analysis". Ecological Economics, 172: 106532, (2020).
Glatt, M., Brouwer, R., and Logar, I. "Combining risk attitudes in a lottery game and flood risk protection decisions in a discrete choice experiment". Environmental and Resource Economics, 74(4): 1533-1562, (2019).