SFA faculty member research cited in presidential economic report

Research published by Dr. Rebecca Davis, associate professor of economics in Stephen F. Austin State University's Rusche College of Business, was cited in the 2025 Economic Report of the President.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Research published by Dr. Rebecca Davis, associate professor of economics in Stephen F. Austin State University's Rusche College of Business, that summarizes the history of U.S. coal-fired plant retirements and offers future projections for the industry was cited in the 2025 Economic Report of the President.

Submitted by President Joe Biden to the U.S. Congress this month, the report cites Davis' article "Coal-Fired Power Plant Retirements in the U.S." in chapter 5. The article was originally included in the 2022 issue of "Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy," an academic book published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Davis is credited as a co-author of the article along with Drs. J. Scott Holladay and Charles Sims, both associate professors of economics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Through a theoretical model of the retirement decision coal generator owners face, the authors predict that three-quarters of coal generation capacity will retire in the next 20 years, with policy having a limited ability to affect retirement times.

"It is an honor to be recognized for my research cited in this type of report," Davis said. "I always wanted to investigate topics that influence policy, and this encourages me to continue that endeavor."

The 2025 Economic Report of the President includes the Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers, which contains Davis' cited study. The research she compiled alongside Holladay and Sims says that continuing to run some existing fossil fuel-fired plants until the end of their lifetimes can be less expensive than replacing them early with new solar and wind generation.

"This is a tremendous recognition of Dr. Davis' research accomplishments and the real policy impact it is having," said Dr. Mikhail Kouliavtsev, chair of SFA's Department of Economics and Finance.

To view the full report, visit whitehouse.gov, select "Executive Offices" from the menu, and click on "Council of Economic Advisers." To learn more about SFA's Department of Economics and Finance, visit sfasu.edu/ecofin.