Yanxu Long
I am an environmental economist studying relationships between people and nature through the lens of forests. Currently, I am a postdoctoral associate at NatCap TEEMs in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Applied Economics and a visiting postdoctoral scholar with NatCap at Stanford University.
email · cv · google scholar · github · linkedin
news
nowWorking on techno-economic analysis of biochar production, ecosystem service valuation of fuel-reduction treatments, and measurement of gross ecosystem product (gep) by country.
Jul 28Moderating and presenting at 2026 AAEA.Jul 28 · 10:00 am – 11:30 am · Environmental Economics and Policy - Wildfires
Location: Prohibition Hall C · Moderator: Yanxu Long · Discusant Moderator: Edward Jaenicke
Jul 1Presented at Natural Capital Symposium 2026.
2025Joined NatCap TEEMs as a postdoctoral scholar.
2025Earned Ph.D. in Applied Economics from University of Minnesota.
forest economics · environmental economics · ecosystem services · natural capital
research
publications
- Linking economic value, trade dynamics and forest loss in global primary wood production, with Yunong Yao, Xiaobiao Zhang, Yangyang Zhang, Stephen Polasky, Baolong Han, Yi Xiao, Fei Lu, Cheng Gong, and Zhiyun Ouyang, Resources, Conservation and Recycling (2026)
- Synergistic management of forest and reservoir infrastructure improves multistakeholders’ benefits across the forest-water-energy-food nexus, with Lijuan Wang, Hua Zheng, Yongzhe Chen, Jinhang Chen, Ruonan Li, Xiaofei Hu, and Zhiyun Ouyang, Journal of Cleaner Production (2023)
- Spatial priorities for biodiversity and ecosystem services considering theoretical decision-makers’ attitudes to risk, with Lijuan Wang, Hua Zheng, and Stephen Polasky, Environmental Research Communications (2021)
selected working papers
- Rural Poverty Alleviation and Forest Conservation, working with Stephen Polasky, revision and resubmission in Environment and Development Economics
- Invest in Green, Earn the Gold? Payment for Ecosystem Services, Reforestation and Rural Livelihoods, revision and resubmission in Journal of Forest Economics
- Systemic Risk from Nature Loss and Climate Change, with Justin A Johnson et al., under review in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Urban ecosystem services in decline: The environmental cost of urban expansion in US metropolitan areas from 2001 to 2021, with Elizabeth Kula, Benjamin Janke, Justin A Johnson, Eric V Lonsdorf, Chris Nootenboom, and Stephen Polasky, revision and resubmission in Ecosystem Services
teaching
experience
- Principles of Microeconomics (ECO 113)
- Food and Agricultural Policy (AGEC 8090)
teaching interests
- microeconomics · forest economics · resource and environmental economics
about
bio
I am a postdoctoral scholar affiliated with NatCap TEEMs in University of Minnesota’s Department of Applied Economics. My research lies at the intersection of environmental and development economics, with emphasis on forests, ecosystem services, and natural capital accounting.
I study economic impacts of environmental policies and environmental consequences of economic development using applied econometrics, spatial data, and interdisciplinary methods.
I earned my Ph.D. in Applied Economics from University of Minnesota in February 2025 under supervision of Marc F. Bellemare and Stephen Polasky. My dissertation examines relationships between forests and people, including poverty alleviation and forest conservation, payments for ecosystem services and rural livelihoods, and large-scale tree planting and local economic development.
alma mater(s)
- Ph.D. · University of Minnesota
- B.A. & B.S. · China Agricultural University