Frank Wolak portrait 2024

Frank Wolak, MS, PhD

  • Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
  • Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price Studies in Economics
  • Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
  • Director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development

Stanford University
Economics Department
579 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford, CA 94305-6072

(650) 724-1712 (voice)
(650) 724-1717 (fax)

Biography

Frank A. Wolak is a Professor in the Department of Economics at Stanford University. His fields of specialization are Industrial Organization and Econometric Theory. His recent work studies methods for introducing competition into infrastructure industries -- telecommunications, electricity, water delivery and postal delivery services -- and on assessing the impacts of these competition policies on consumer and producer welfare. He is the Chairman of the Market Surveillance Committee of the California Independent System Operator for electricity supply industry in California. He is a visiting scholar at University of California Energy Institute and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Professor Wolak received his Ph.D. and M.S. from Harvard University and his B.A. from Rice University.

publications

Policy Briefs
May 2020

Economic Policy Challenges Facing California's Next Governor: Electricity Policy Reform

Author(s)
cover link Economic Policy Challenges Facing California's Next Governor: Electricity Policy Reform
Policy Briefs
August 2018

Reports of the Demise of Carbon Pricing are Greatly Exaggerated

Author(s)
cover link Reports of the Demise of Carbon Pricing are Greatly Exaggerated
Policy Briefs
November 2017

Retail Pricing to Support the 21st Century Distribution Grid

Author(s)
cover link Retail Pricing to Support the 21st Century Distribution Grid

In The News

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Commentary

The End of Expensive Oil?

cover link The End of Expensive Oil?
14993 oil news
Commentary

The global oil price drop may last for the next couple decades, Stanford economist says

cover link The global oil price drop may last for the next couple decades, Stanford economist says