Resources for the Future (RFF)
Resources for the Future (RFF) is a prominent think tank established in 1952, focusing on environmental and resource issues. Founded at the behest of CBS chairman William S. Paley and supported by initial funding from the Ford Foundation, RFF has become a key player in addressing the complexities surrounding resource supply and demand. Unlike many organizations that advocate for specific policies, RFF emphasizes empirical research and objective assessments, which are utilized by public officials, business leaders, and the media. The organization is staffed by a diverse group of experts, including economists and policy analysts, who contribute to a wide range of studies on topics like resource management, environmental economics, and climate change.
RFF has significantly influenced environmental policy, highlighting issues such as pollution as an unaccounted production cost and advocating for market-based solutions like pollution credits. Throughout its history, RFF has published essential works, including influential books that have shaped federal agency policies and understanding of natural resource economics. Its mission has evolved to encompass critical issues such as hazardous waste mitigation and biodiversity, bolstering its role in discussions on climate policy both in the U.S. and internationally. RFF remains a vital resource for informed dialogue on sustainable resource use and environmental stewardship.
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Subject Terms
Resources for the Future (RFF)
- DATE: Established 1952
Resources for the Future utilizes social science research to support policy decision making related to resource utilization. Founded as a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, Resources for the Future focuses on economic factors that influence the supply of and demand for energy, water, timber, and other resources.
Background
Resources for the Future (RFF) was founded in 1952 at the suggestion of William S. Paley, chair of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and head of a presidential commission created to consider US dependence on foreign resources. With initial funding from the Ford Foundation, RFF evolved into the nation’s first think tank focused on environmental and resource issues. In lieu of aligning with specific policy recommendations or legislation, RFF provides empirically based assessments of factors influencing the supply of and demand for resources. RFF studies are used by public officials, business leaders, nonprofit organizations, and the news media. In addition, RFF researchers are called on to brief members of the executive branch and to testify before Congress. Along with research reports and book-length monographs, RFF publishes a quarterly magazine called Resources. Ongoing financial support comes through donations from private organizations, individuals, and government agencies. In fiscal year 2024, RFF’s operating revenue was $18 million, with more than three-quarters earmarked for research. RFF maintains a permanent staff of economists, geographers, attorneys, policy analysts, and other researchers.
Impact on Resource Use
Early work by RFF scholars focused on resource scarcity and import dependence. RFF researchers are recognized as pioneers in the field of environmental economics through studies of resource markets and scarcity, nonmarket valuation of resources, risk management, and sustainable development. Published in 1960, the RFF book Energy in the American Economy became an important source of information for federal agencies. RFF’s database was included in the US Census Bureau’s Historical Statistics of the United States.
RFF researchers have also made several important contributions to resource management. For example, RFF economists played a key role in identifying pollution as a production cost for which a responsible party does not pay. Allen Kneese’s work on water quality laid the conceptual foundation for using market mechanisms to mitigate air pollution. As a result of Kneese’s work, the US Environmental Protection Agency began allowing companies to buy and sell “pollution credits” in the early 1990s. The RFF book Scarcity and Growth (1963) suggested that impacts on environmental quality are a more serious threat than shortages in the availability of natural resources. Another seminal work, Resources in America’s Future (1963), provided an overview of the economic role of natural resources in the US economy together with projections about their future availability. Lessons from the Clean Air Act: Building Durability and Adaptability into US Climate and Energy Policy (2019) explains how climate and energy policies can be used together to improve the environment.
In 1967, John Krutilla’s paper “Conservation Reconsidered” became the basis for identifying and measuring benefits in decision making involving resources.
RFF’s mission has expanded to include hazardous waste mitigation, change, biodiversity, and management. RFF researchers have been influential members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and have helped in the formulation of US climate policy.
Bibliography
"About Us." Resources for the Future,www.rff.org/about/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
"Our Impact in 2024." Resources for the Future, www.rff.org/our-impact-in-2024/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.
Wear, David N. "In Focus: Carbon Dioxide Removal from US Forests." Resources, 19 Oct. 2023, www.resources.org/in-focus/in-focus-carbon-dioxide-removal-from-us-forests/. Accessed 6 Jan. 2025.