Vincent, Jeffrey

Jeffrey R. Vincent is the Clarence F. Korstian Distinguished Professor of Forest Economics and Management in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University in the United States. Prior to joining Duke, he held positions at the University of California, San Diego (School of International Relations & Pacific Studies), Harvard University (Institute for International Development), and Michigan State University (Department of Forestry). He is a Fellow at the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics in Stockholm and a longtime affiliate of the South Asian Network of Development and Environmental Economists (SANDEE).

Professor Vincent is an applied economist who works primarily on forest policy issues in the Global South. His current research focuses on the economics of afforestation and reforestation in Africa and Asia. His prior research covered various topics, including the tropical timber trade, tropical timber concession policies, multiple-use forestry, incorporating natural capital in national income and wealth accounts, forest ecosystem services, climate change and rice yields, the economics of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and the economics of pediatric surgery. He received the 2003 McKinsey Award for the most significant article published in the Harvard Business Review and the 2006 Cozzarelli Prize for the best article in applied biological, agricultural, and environmental sciences published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He coauthored a paper in Nature Communications that won the Ecological Society of America’s 2025 Early Career Section Outstanding Paper Award.

In 2023, Professor Vincent received the Nicholas School’s Lynn Maguire Award for excellence in teaching and mentoring professional master’s students.

Expertise areas

Economics of afforestation and reforestation
Forest carbon offsets