Professor Shobe splits his time between the Batten School and UVa’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, where he heads up the Center for Economic and Policy Studies. He also teaches a class in environmental economics for the UVa Economics Department. His current research includes emission market and auction design, environmental federalism, improved economic modeling of Virginia’s economy, state economic development incentives, and state economic forecasting.

In 2007, he worked with Professor Charlie Holt and others on the research team that designed the carbon allowance auctions for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. In 2000, Shobe received a Fulbright Fellowship in environmental economics and policy. Before joining UVA, Shobe served as Associate Director for Economic & Regulatory Analysis with the Virginia Department of Planning & Budget (DPB), where he coordinated state expenditure forecasts and the economic analysis of state regulations.

While at the DPB, Shobe managed the design and implementation of the innovative Virginia NOx allowance auction. He also developed the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall website, the first in the nation web site for managing and publicizing state regulatory development. This site was honored with a “2002 Best-of-Breed” award from the Center for Digital Government, the 2002 Colborn Award for innovation from the National Association of Secretaries of State, and the 2003 Public Access to Government Information Award from the National Association of Law Libraries.

Prior to joining DPB, he taught economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Shobe serves on a number of state advisory boards including the Joint Advisory Board of Economists and the State Advisory Board on Air Pollution.