Robert H. Nelson

Economist & Policy Analyst, University of Maryland

Zoning * Residential Community Associations * Environmental Policy

Bob Nelson is Professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Maryland, College Park. From 1975 to 1993 he was an economist with the Office of Policy Analysis in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget in the U.S. Department of the Interior. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bob was a staff economist for the Twentieth Century Fund in New York.

• Dr. Nelson's research on zoning pioneered economic and property rights approaches to land use beginning with the publication of his first book, Zoning and Property Rights: An Analysis of the American System of Land Use Regulation (MIT Press, 1977).
• He has also published four books and more than 50 professional articles and book chapters on zoning, property rights, environmental policy, ecology, and the economics and management of natural resources. His work has appeared in leading professional publications, including the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Land Economics, the Journal of Economic Literature, the Urban Lawyer, and the Southern Economic Journal.
• Professor Nelson has given testimony before the U.S. Congress and delivered dozens of speeches at national conferences and seminars sponsored by national organizations such as the Smithsonian Institute, Resources for the Future, the American Farm Bureau, the Cato Institute, Harvard University, the American Economic Association, the Southern Economic Association, and the Western Economics Association.
• While at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bob served as the Senior Research Manager for the President's Commission on Privatization, staff economist for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution, and chaired the department's Task Force on Indian Economic Development.
• Peter received his B.A. in mathematics from Brandeis University in 1966 and Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University in 1971. He also participated in N.S.F. Summer Study Program in Urban Economics at Stanford University in 1971.