Robyn Meeks
Assistant Professor, Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University; Faculty Affiliate, Duke University Energy Initiative and Duke Center for International Development.
Contact: 919-613-9376, robyn.meeks@duke.edu
Professor Meeks has implemented field research in a number of countries, including India, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Kazakhstan, and Peru.
Her research is at the intersection of environmental and development economics with much of her work focusing on understanding individual and household responses to the introduction of various water and energy technologies, policies, and types of infrastructure in developing countries. Professor Meeks has implemented field research in a number of countries, including India, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Kazakhstan, and Peru.
Her prior and on-going energy-related research addresses topics such as: the impacts of energy efficient technologies on household electricity consumption and local electricity reliability, benefits of smart meters, household perception of and response to non-linear electricity pricing, the impacts of grid versus off-grid electrification on enterprise development, and the impacts of alternative cooking fuels (such as biogas) on indicators of sustainable development.
Professor Meeks has a Ph.D. from Harvard University, a master’s degree from Yale University, and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University.
Recent work by Meeks includes:
Publication: Energy Efficiency and Electricity Reliability
My Work
Robyn Meeks to join Harvard Business School as Business in Global Society visiting fellow
Robyn Meeks will join Harvard Business School’s Institute for the Study of Business in Global Society (BiGS) as one of five visiting fellows conducting research projects related to climate. Robyn will study climate resilience in developing countries while at Harvard for the 2023-24 academic year.
New Working Paper: Electrification to Grow Manufacturing? Evidence from Nepal
In the inaugural working paper of our new series, Robyn Meeks and co-authors explore the impacts that access to electricity through microhydro in Nepal has on labor and manufacturing.
SETI Fourth Annual Meeting
The 4th Annual Meeting of the Sustainable Energy Transitions Initiative took place on May 15-17, 2019 in Santiago, Chile.
Podcast: A Small Green Idea to Power Rural Nepal
As Subhrendu Pattanayak and a group of researchers from Duke University navigate narrow catwalks high into the Annapurna mountain range in the Himalayas, they begin to understand first-hand the difficulties of establishing any set infrastructure in such difficult terrain.
Ian Ferguson: Improving Nepal’s Mini-Grid Technology
Ian Ferguson spent the summer of 2018 conducting research on the challenges communities face in building, operating, and maintaining mini-grid technology in Nepal.
Benin Off Grid Energy Access Incentives
Matching economic growth with infrastructure development
Impacts of Household Smart Meters
How smart meters can reduce electricity losses in distribution
Efficient lighting and reliability in Kyrgyzstan
Improving system reliability in the Kyrgyz Republic
Mapping Energy Infrastructure
Mobilizing satellite imagery and big data to identify global infrastructure