Research Focus
Brant’s research seeks to understand how natural endowments, such as water features, soil types, mountains, or coastlines, shape a location’s economic and environmental outcomes.
Bio
Brant is an economist at the Yale School of the Environment focusing on the environment, trade, industry structure, and public policy. Prior to Yale, he worked as a researcher at the University of Mannheim, Stanford University, and the University of California–Berkeley after graduating from the University of Iowa with a B.S. in Mathematics and Economics.
Brant’s research seeks to understand how natural endowments, such as water features, soil types, mountains, or coastlines, shape a location’s economic and environmental outcomes. One branch of work focuses on water quality and policy design. His research studies how jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act has changed over time and how surface water policy can be improved using local measurements on a national scale.
Another branch of work studies the global fertilizer industry. Brant investigates how the distribution of fertilizer production and global trade flows shape public finance, food security, and environmental outcomes differently around the world.
Outside of work, Brant enjoys playing ice hockey and going on bike rides and runs with his wife, Hannah, and dog, Hazel.