Stephen Bird: Professional Activities

Stephen began dissertation research on energy policy, social networks, and interest groups in 2006. He is a lecturer at Boston University and past lecturer at Simmons College. He received his masters in government (with honors) from Harvard in 2003, was the recipient of a Kennedy School Rappaport Fellowship in 2004, and has worked for Harvard’s Electricity Policy Group since 2002. His consulting experience includes work for the U.S. State Department (electricity restructuring, U.S. and Japan) and Massachusetts' Environmental Affairs (chemical risk assessment). He is president of the board of directors at Mass Energy (a consumer’s energy non-profit). He has been a teaching fellow in PO 101, 102 and 211, and won BU's department teaching fellow award in 2005.

Dissertation          Consulting          Selected Research

Dissertation: Policy Preferences and Social Networks

My dissertation will address the nature of influence, policy preferences, social networks, interest groups, and electricity restructuring.  I have not posted additional information in an attempt to avoid survey response bias (research is ongoing). Please contact me if you are interested in the research proposal.

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Consulting Practice

I work occasionally as a consultant or professional on environmental siting and risk issues, electricity liberalization, and general energy issues. Past clients include the Office of Technical Assistance at Massachusetts Environmental Affairs, The United States Department of State, and the Harvard Electricity Policy Group.

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Selected Research and Presentations

·          Social Networks, Pedagogy, and Weak Ties

·          Risk Assessment for Toxic Chemicals: Implementing a Comprehensive Evaluation System

·          Economic Growth and Energy Security in Electricity Restructuring. United States Program on Energy Restructuring, Japan

·          RTO Governance: A Comparison of ISO Governance Structures in the United States

·          Regulatory Divergence? The Case of Electricity Liberalization

Social Networks, Pedagogy, and Weak Ties: The Impact of Collaborative Social Capital on Grades

A social network experiment conducted in a large, introductory political science course (294 students) reveals several effects on grade outcomes, some of which are counter-intuitive. A strong correlation between collaborative academic interactions, and grade performance is shown. While the amount of collaborative ties increases grades, the benefit lessens substantially after reaching an optimum network capacity. Second, a distinction between learning as information diffusion and learning as a collaborative, interactive process is noted. Initial results demonstrate that information exchange (collaboration) has a significant role in the learning process, although this is in addition to (rather than instead of) the diffusion process. The teaching of political science is affected not only by the degree of collaborative processes but also by the quantity, quality, class, and type of these processes.

Social Networks, Pedagogy, and Weak Ties (PowerPoint) Presented at the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference, Washington DC, February 2005.

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Risk Assessment for Toxic Chemicals: Implementing a Comprehensive Evaluation System

Risk assessment for chemicals has gained importance because many state environmental agencies must improve environmental results while simultaneously losing staff and resources. Second, there is concern that large-scale chemical use presents “low-hanging fruit” for sabotage or terrorism. This tool allows state agencies to broadly assess  toxic chemical facilities and prioritize outreach and enforcement. They can increase knowledge of regional profiles, and identify non-filing facilities.

An initial risk profile is created from the ratio between EPA threshold ratings and chemical storage amounts. This approach has a robust correlation with accident rates. Additional variables include chemical hazard, facility type, and credit ratings. Future development will include geographical information (GIS methodology), transportation information, facility size, and other  chemical characteristics. The risk assessment tool represents a significant improvement in the comprehensive overview of chemical facilities.

OTA Risk Prioritization Tool

Rappaport Institute, Harvard University, September 2004. Capstone Report.

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Economic Growth and Energy Security in Electricity Restructuring: Benefits, Issues, and Lessons Learned

A comprehensive overview of problems and benefits in the American electricity restructuring experience. Analysis of these issues in the Japan context.

Economic Growth and Energy Security in Electricity Restructuring (PowerPoint)
U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant: United States Program on Energy Deregulation. U.S. State Department. Presented at Institute for Energy Economics, Tokyo, Japan. July 18, 2003. 

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RTO Governance: A Comparison of ISO Governance Structures in the United States.

Analysis of RTO and ISO board governance in the United States electricity regulatory arena demonstrates significant differences between these organizations.

RTO Governance: A Comparison of ISO Governance Structures in the United States
Harvard Electricity Policy Group, April 2002.

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Regulatory Divergence? The Case of Electricity Liberalization

The convergence and divergence debate has largely steered clear of the regulatory realm. While the general movement worldwide towards restructuring in electricity regulation implies convergence, more in-depth analysis demonstrates that divergent trends are at a minimum slowing this process, if not refuting the theory substantially. Quantitative and case study analysis of market typologies and regulatory measurements in electricity liberalization demonstrate a regulatory arena that still demonstrates extensive variance. The degree of market coordination within an economy has a clear association with this variation.

Under revision.

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