Dr. Blake Shaffer
Positions
Associate Professor
Associate Professor
The School of Public Policy
Contact information
Web presence
I'm looking for...
Research partners
I'm always looking for research partners interested in better understanding the potential of flexible demand to manage modern electricity systems.
Background
Educational Background
PhD Economics, University of Calgary, 2018
MPhil Economics, Cambridge University, 2003
BSc Honours Environmental Sciences, Queen's University, 2000
Biography
Blake Shaffer is an assistant professor in the Department of Economics and School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. His work focusses on electricity markets, climate policy and energy transitions. He uses empirical methods to evaluate policy effectiveness and better understand consumer and firm behaviour.
Prior to returning to academia, Shaffer had a 15 year career in energy trading, specializing in electricity, natural gas and emissions markets. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Calgary, Master of Philosophy in economics from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences from Queen’s University. He has recently held visiting scholar and Fulbright postdoctoral scholar positions at the Toulouse School of Economics and Stanford University.
His recent research has been published in Nature, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Canadian Journal of Economics, Energy Economics, and the Energy Journal. His popular writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Postmedia, CBC, and other media outlets. Shaffer has also served as policy advisor for the governments of Alberta, British Columbia and Canada on energy and environmental policy matters.
Research
Areas of Research
Participation in university strategic initiatives
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 329 LEC 01 01 | Electricity Markets | 2020 |
| PPOL 61126 LEC 01 01 | Independent Study | 2020 |
| ECON 429 | Advanced Electricity Markets | Winter 2022 |
Publications
- Make electric vehicles lighter to maximize climate and safety benefits. Maximilian Auffhammer and Costa Samaras. Nature. (2021)
- Alberta's renewable electricity program: design, results, and lessons learned. Sara Hastings-Simon, Andrew Leach, Blake Shaffer, Tim Weis. Energy Policy. (2022)
- Changing sensitivity to cold weather in Texas power demand. Daniel Quintero, Joshua Rhodes. iScience. (2022)
- Private risk and social resilience in liberalized electricity markets. Jacob Mays, Michael Craig, Lynne Kiesling, Han Shu. Joule. (2022)
- Canadian electricity markets during the COVID-19 pandemic: An initial assessment. Andrew Leach and Nic Rivers. Canadian Public Policy. (2020)
- Paying for performance: The role of policy in energy storage deployment. Mokhtar Tabari. Energy Economics. (2020)
- Misunderstanding nonlinear prices: Evidence from a natural experiment on residential electricity demand. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. (2020)
- Stretching the duck: How rising temperatures will change the level and shape of future electricity consumption. Nic Rivers. The Energy Journal. (2020)
- Location Matters: Daylight saving time and electricity demand. Canadian Journal of Economics. (2019)
- Preliminary results of the London congestion charging scheme. Georgina Santos. Public Works, Management and Policy. (2004)
- A multiple account benefit-cost analysis of coal mining in Alberta. Jennifer Winter, Megan Bailey, Emily Galley and Chris Joseph. School of Public Policy Research Paper. (2021)
- The Role of Hydrogen in Decarbonizing Alberta's Electricity System. Chris Bataille and Jordan Neff. School of Public Policy Research Paper. (2021)
- The Role of Hydrogen in Canada's Transition to Net-Zero Emissions. Chris Bataille and Jordan Neff. School of Public Policy Research Paper. (2021)
- Technical pathways to aligning Canadian electricity systems with net zero goals. Canadian Institute for Climate Choices. (2021)
- The Price of Power: Comparative Electricity Costs across Provinces. Grant Bishop and Mariam Ragab. C.D. Howe Institute. (2020)
- The Role of Storage in Alberta's Electricity Market: Summary of a School of Public Policy Roundtable Event. School of Public Policy Summary Paper. (2019)
- All's Well that Ends Well: Addressing End-of-Life Liabilities for Oil and Gas Wells. Ben Dachis and Vincent Thivierge. C.D. Howe Institute. (2017)
- The Challenge of Integrating Renewable Generation in the Alberta Electricity Market. G. Kent Fellows and Michal Moore. School of Public Policy Summary Paper. (2016)
- The Political Economy of Free Allocations. Mark Purdon and David Houle. Ecofiscal Commission. (2016)
- Lifting the Hood on the Alberta Royalty Review. School of Public Policy Briefing Paper. (2016)
- Attitudes, behaviours and barriers to public health measures for COVID-19: a survey to inform public health messaging. Lang, R., Benham, J.L., Atabati, O., Hollis, A., Tombe, T., Shaffer, B., Kovacs Burns, K., MacKean, G., Leveille, T., McCormack, B., Sheikh, H., Fullerton, M., Tang, T., Boucher, J-C., Constaintinescu, C., Mourali, M., Manns, B., Marshall, D. & Oxoby, R.. BMC Public Health. (2021)
- COVID-19 Vaccine Attitudes and Beliefs: A Canadian National Cross-Sectional Survey and Cluster Analysis. J., Omid Atabati, Robert J Oxoby, Mehdi Mourali, Blake Shaffer, Hasan Sheikh, Jean-Christophe Boucher, Cora Constantinescu, NM Ivers, SC Ratzan, MM Fullerton, T Tang, BJ Manns, DA Marshall, J Hu, R Lang. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. (2021)
- Characterization of non-adopters of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions through a national cross-sectional survey to assess attitudes and behaviours. Lang, R., Omid Atabati, Robert J Oxoby, Mehdi Mourali, Blake Shaffer, Hasan Sheikh, Madison M Fullerton, Theresa Tang, Jeanna Parsons Leigh, Braden J Manns, Deborah A Marshall, Noah M Ivers, Scott C Ratzan, Jia Hu, Jamie L Benham. Scientific Reports. (2021)
In the News
- If you got an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, you made the right decision, according to economics. Globeandmail. (2021)
- Comment le Canada peut fournir une énergie propre et fiable grâce aux macroréseaux électriques. The Conversation Canada. (2021)
- Why Canada should invest in ‘macrogrids’ for greener more reliable electricity. The Conversation Canada. (2021)
- Lessons for Alberta from the Texas power blackout. CBC. (2021)
- Bridging the electricity gap between Alberta and B.C. makes perfect climate sense. CBC. (2020)
- Alberta's shift away from coal power is a climate action success story. CBC. (2020)
- On the wrong track: Alberta loses $2.1B on crude-by-rail contracts. CBC. (2020)
- Alberta’s government is using coronavirus as a shield for laying off education workers. Globeandmail. (2020)
- Beyond pipelines: The nation-building project that could electrify Canada. Globeandmail. (2020)
- Alberta's carbon-pricing policy is imperfect -- but in one significant way, it's actually better than Ottawa's. Globeandmail. (2019)
- Les Canadiens ont les voitures les plus grosses et les plus énergivores au monde. The Conversation Canada. (2019)
- When it comes to vehicles, Canada tops the charts for poor fuel economy. The Conversation Canada. (2019)
- Redwater decision is progress, but environmental liabilities run deep. Globeandmail. (2019)
- Canada's new large-emitter pricing system might defeat the carbon tax's own purpose. Macleans. (2018)
- Will LNG Canada increase greenhouse gas emissions?. Macleans. (2018)
- On Policy Durability. The Hill Times. (2018)
- Why the B.C. Liberals and NDP are both wrong about bridge tolls. Macleans. (2017)
- Why John Horgan deserves credit for going ahead with Site C. Macleans. (2017)
- Saskatchewan swallows the fiscal pill Alberta refuses. Macleans. (2017)
- Paying for pipelines: How consumers can end up footing the bill. CBC. (2017)
- Making sense of energy efficiency programs. Macleans. (2017)
- Alberta Electricity: There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear. Calgary Herald. (2016)
- Carbon tax: The real debate is about the revenue. Globeandmail. (2016)
- Making sense of a $15 minimum wage in Alberta. Macleans. (2016)
- Alberta's climate plan requires serious debate. Globeandmail. (2016)
- Making sense of provincial debt downgrades: Why Canadians in all regions should watch mounting provincial debt levels with concern. Macleans. (2015)
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