Karen R. Polenske

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Karen Rosel Polenske (born March 20, 1937) is an American regional economist who studies how energy, the environment, and infrastructure fit into regional economies using input-output methods, especially at subnational levels. She is the Peter de Florez Professor of Regional Political Economy at MIT.

Education and early work
- B.S. in Home Economics from Oregon State University (1959)
- M.P.A. and economics from Syracuse University
- Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, where she led regional work at the Harvard Economic Research Project
- Worked with Wassily Leontief to direct one of the largest multiregional input-output studies of the U.S. economy

Career at MIT
- Director of MIT’s multiregional planning research team since 1972
- Past president of the International Input-Output Association

Advisory roles
- Advised international organizations: United Nations Development Programme, IPCC, World Bank
- Consulted for U.S. agencies: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, Army Corps of Engineers

Awards and honors
- RSAI Fellow (2005)
- Walter Isard Distinguished Scholar Prize (1996)
- Margaret McCoy Award (1999) for advancing women in planning
- Special recognition from IPCC chair Rajendra Pachauri (2007) for IPCC contributions linked to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
- Sloan Industry Studies Best Book Award (2008) for The Technology, Energy, Environmental-Health (TEEH) Chain in China: A Case Study of Cokemaking
- Author of eight books and many articles in energy, environment, planning, and economics

Notable ideas and influence
- Known for input-output analysis
- Influenced by Wassily Leontief