Paul Ferraro is building an evidence base about the environmental and social impacts of public and private programs, seeking to identify the causal links between the actions we take to improve our world and their impact. His work has led to the development of evidence-based environmental programs that tackle some of society’s most pressing problems.

Ferraro co-directs the USDA-funded Center for Behavioral and Experimental Agri-Environmental Research, which runs randomized controlled trials within USDA programs to improve the effectiveness of conservation programs intended to help both farmers and the environment. His research has helped determine how societies can best address clean water scarcity and has improved the effectiveness of ecosystem conservation programs. Ferraro is currently collaborating with natural and physical scientists to elucidate causal relationships in ecological and hydrological systems. Another area of Ferraro’s research focuses on quantifying both the impacts of environmental regulations on the poor and the impacts of anti-poverty programs on the environment.

Ferraro joined Johns Hopkins University as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in 2015 from Georgia State University.