Professor R. Quentin Grafton

B.Ag. Econ (Massey), MS (Iowa State University), PhD (University of British Columbia)
Co-Chair of ANU Water Initiative
Director, Centre for Water Economics, Environment & Policy
ANU College of Asia & the Pacific

R. Quentin Grafton has an abiding interest in the problems of the environment, especially the overexploitation and management of renewable resources, especially fisheries and water. In April 2010 he was appointed the Chairholder, the UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance. He currently serves as Editor of the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics and on the editorial boards of Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, International Journal of Environmental Economics, Environment and Development Economics, and Economics Research International. He is also the Chief Editor of the blog, the Global Water Forum.

He has published more than 80 scholarly articles in some of the world's leading journals in economics and the life sciences (such as Science), more than 25 chapters in books, four edited books and seven authored books including: Handbook of Marine Fisheries Conservation and Management (2010), Economics of Water Resources (2009), The Economics of the Environment and Natural Resources (2004), Understanding the Environment: Bridging the Disciplinary Divides (2005) and Economics for Fisheries Management (2006).

He has served in numerous advisory roles and expert panels in Australia and overseas, including as Chair of the Social and Economics Reference Panel of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (2008-2009) and a member of the National Council on Education for Sustainability (2008-2010).

Research interests

  • Water justice
  • Food, Energy, Water nexus
  • Resilience and risk
  • Urban water pricing
  • Energy security
  • Gas markets and regulation
  • Water markets and water economics
  • Social capital and network theory
  • Fisheries management (especially marine reserves)
  • Property rights (especially quantitative instruments in resource and environmental management)

Groups