George S.
Tolley, Ph.D., President
George Tolley is President of RCF, a Professor of Economics
at the University of Chicago, and the author or co-author
of 17 books and over 100 articles in professional journals.
Dr. Tolley was Director of the Center for Urban Studies at
the University of Chicago from 1978 to 1985.
Some of Dr. Tolley’s important books contributing to the
professional environmental literature include the following
books Valuing Health for Policy: An Economic Approach, The
Economic Value of Visibility, Environmental Policy (A 5
volume series), and The Economics of Urban Amenities. A few
of his important, recent articles are: "Issues in the
Improvement of the Valuation of Non-Market Goods," in
Resource and Energy Economics, "Asbestos Removal and
Treatment Impacts on Housing and Urban Neighborhoods," in
Journal of Environmental Systems, and "Valuing Changes in
Health Risks: A Comparison of Alternative Measures," in
Southern Economic Journal. In addition to his academic
work, Dr. Tolley is very influential in policy formation
and change at the international, federal, and local level.
Dr. Tolley has performed extensive international work for
the World Bank and the Agency for International
Development, and has served as an economic policy
consultant to the governments of China, Venezuela, Panama,
Korea, Thailand, Iran, and Gambia. He has made major
recommendations on agricultural and natural resource
policies, housing privatization, regional development, and
taxation.
Dr. Tolley directs RCF's mail volume forecasting work for
the U.S. Postal Service, and has served as the chief
witness for the Postal Service on volume issues. From 1974
to 1975, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy
in the U.S. Treasury Department and from 1965 to 1966 he
was Director of the Economic Development Division, U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Since 1965, he has served on
various committees of the National Academy of Science,
including Automotive Pollution, Water Policy, and the
Energy Engineering.
Dr. Tolley has analyzed proposed environmental regulations
for the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources
and has testified at the Illinois Pollution Control Board.
He has conducted several projects for the Wisconsin
Electric Power Company, Commonwealth Edison, the Edison
Electric Institute, and Peoples Gas, including evaluation
of company environmental and conservation programs,
forecasts of the impacts of new regulation, and market
analysis of plant construction plans. Dr. Tolley is an
advisor to the Department of Environment Commissioner, and
has performed economic analyses for many private companies
as well as the City of Chicago.