Click here for my CV 

Professor for Sustainability Economics and Head of the Sustainability Economics Group, University of Hamburg 


My research focuses on designing and evaluating public policies to address sustainability challenges, such as relating to climate change, biodiversity conservation, fishery and forests, air and water quality, and health, with a special focus on distributional issues. Drawing on theory, modelling and empirical approaches, my work seeks to inform the transition towards more sustainable futures.

My work appears in general economics journals (e.g. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Journal of Economic Literature), field journals (e.g. JEEM, EARE), and interdisciplinary journals (e.g. Nature Climate Change, PNAS, Science), is featured in various media outlets, and has informed public policy guidance i.a. in Germany, the Netherlands, the EU, the UK, and the US.

News:

Journal publications:


The Economics of Inequality and the Environment 

Journal of Economic Literature, forthcoming (with Kornek, U., Meya, J.N. & L. Sager). 


Synthesis of evidence yields high social cost of carbon due to structural model variation and uncertainties

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024 (with Moore, F., Rising, J., Dietz, S., Rudik, I. & G. Wagner). 


Pricing Carbon: Evidence from Expert Recommendations 

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2024 (with Nesje, F. & R.C. Schmidt). [Executive summary] [AEA featured chart]


Climate policy curves highlight key mitigation choices 

Climate Policy, 2024 (with M.C. Hänsel, Bauer, M., Wagner, G. & G. Rudebusch). 


The EU Emissions Trading System Might Generate Large Co-Benefits from Pollution Reduction

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024 (with Basaglia, P., & J. Grunau). 


Dishonesty is linked with the spread of infectious diseases

Economics Letters (with Martini, C., Bos, B., Meya, J.N. & M.F. Quaas).


Accounting for the increasing benefits from scarce ecosystems

Science, 2024 (with M.C. Hänsel, E.P. Fenichel, M. Freeman, C. Gollier, B. Groom, G.M. Heal, P.H. Howard, A. Millner, F.C. Moore, F. Nesje, M.F. Quaas, S. Smulders, T. Sterner, C. Traeger & F. Venmans). [Interactive shiny app]


Relative Price Changes of Ecosystem Services: Evidence from Germany

Environmental and Resource Economics, 2024 (with J. Heckenhahn).


Effects of behavioral interventions on climate beliefs and policy support across 55 countries 

Science Advances, 2024 (with Vlasceanu, M., Doell, K., et al.). [Interactive shiny app]


US benefit-cost analysis requires revision 

Science, 2023 (with Howard, P. H., Sarinsky, M. et al.).


Philosophers and economists agree on climate  policy paths but for different reasons 

Nature Climate Change, 2023 (with Nesje, F., Groom, B., & Freeman, M.C.).


Inequality and the Environment: An Introduction to the Special Issue 

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management [Editorial], 2023 (with Meya, J.N., Quaas, M.F. & L. Sager). 


The future, now: A review of social discounting 

Annual Review of Resource Economics, 2022 (with Groom, B., Freeman, M.C., & F. Nesje).


Relative Prices and Climate Policy: How the Scarcity of Non-Market Goods Drives Policy Evaluation 

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2021 (with M.C. Hänsel).


Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis 

Nature Human Behaviour, 2021 (with Everett, J.A.C., Colombatto, C., & M.J. Crockett et al.).


Testing Structural Benefit Transfer: The Role of Income Inequality 

Resource and Energy Economics, 2021 (with Meya, J.N., & N. Hanley). 


The social cost of contacts: Theory and evidence for the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany 

PLoS ONE, 2021 (with Quaas, M.F., Meya, J.N., Schenk, H., Bos, B., & T. Requate). 


Climate economics support for the UN climate targets 

Nature Climate Change, 2020 (with Hänsel, M.C., Johansson, D.J.H., Nesje, F., Azar, C., Freeman, M.C., Groom, B. & T. Sterner). 


Moral suasion and the private provision of public goods: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic 

Environmental and Resource Economics, 2020 (with Bos, B., Meya, J.N., and M.F. Quaas).


Between Ostrom and Nordhaus: The research landscape of sustainability economics 

Ecological Economics, 2020 (with Baumgärtner, S., Meyer, M., Quaas, M.F. & H. von Wehrden).


Intertemporal utility with heterogeneous goods and constant elasticity of substitution 

Economics Letters, 2020 (with Quaas, M.F., Baumgärtner, S., & J.N. Meya).


Professional Identity and the Gender Gap in Risk-Taking. Evidence from Field Experiments with Scientists 

Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2020 (with Khadjavi, M., Riekhof, M.-C. & R. Voss). 

 

Truth-telling and the regulator. Experimental evidence from commercial fishermen 

European Economic Review, 2019 (with Khadjavi, M. & M.F. Quaas).


Discounting Disentangled 

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2018 (with Freeman, M.C., Groom, B. & F. Nesje).


Economic Inequality and the Value of Nature 

Ecological Economics, 2018 (with Meya, J.N., Baumgärtner, S. & M.F. Quaas). 


Limits to Substitution between Ecosystem Services and Manufactured Goods and Implications for Social Discounting 

Environmental and Resource Economics, 2018.


Subsistence, Substitutability and Sustainability in Consumer Preferences

Environmental and Resource Economics, 2017 (with Baumgärtner, S., & M.F. Quaas).


Income Inequality and Willingness to Pay for Environmental Public Goods

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2017 (with Baumgärtner, S., Meya, J.N., Munz, J.M. & M.F. Quaas). 


Does the Gold Standard label hold its promise in delivering higher Sustainable Development benefits? A multi-criteria comparison of CDM projects

Energy Policy, 2011.

Working papers & selected work-in-progress:


Inequality and the Value of Public Natural Capital 

CESifo Working Paper 8752 (with Meya, J.N., Baumgärtner, S. & M.F. Quaas).


De-Fueling Externalities: Causal effects of fuel taxation and mediating mechanisms for reducing climate and pollution costs.

CESifo Working Paper 10508 (with Basaglia, P.  & Behr, S.M. ).


Designing carbon pricing policies across the globe 

CESifo Working Paper 11424 (with Nesje, F. & R.C. Schmidt).


Testing the free-rider hypothesis in climate policy 

arXiv preprint arXiv:2211.06209 (with R.C. Schmidt, Hoegen, H. & F. Nesje).


Financial risk-taking under health risk

CESifo Working Paper 10387 (with Bos, B., Meya, J.N., & M.F. Quaas). 


Sense and sensitivity: An argument against reporting multiple Net Present Values SSRN Working Paper (with Nesje, F., M.C. Freeman and B. Groom).


The Truth-Telling of Truth-Seekers: Evidence from Online-Experiments with Scientists

CESifo Working Paper 10897 (with Khadjavi, M. & R. Voss).


Global evidence on the income elasticity of willingness to pay, relative price changes and public natural capital values

CESifo Working Paper 11500 (with Z. Turk, Groom, B., & J.  Heckenhahn).


Heterogeneous Substitutability Preferences 

CESifo Working Paper 11197 (with  Bos, B., Disque, S. & J.N. Meya).


Distributional preferences in risky situations 

(with Bos, B., & P.G. Piacquadio).


Re-assessing the health of the global oceans according to general population preferences

(with Bos, B., & S. Disque). 


Low Emission Zones and Environmental Justice

(with Bos, B., & L. Sager). 


Structural modelling interactions in climate policy evaluation

(with Schaumann, F., Anthoff, D., Hänsel, M.C., Moore, F.C., Rennels, L., & Rising, J.). 

Other publications:


The International Climate Psychology Collaboration: Climate change-related data collected from 63 countries. Scientific data, 2024 (with Doell, K. C., et al.).


Public comment on proposed Circular A-4 "Adjusting relative prices of non-market environmental goods" 

2023, Public Consultation Response on proposed Circular A–4, “Regulatory Analysis.” (with E.P. Fenichel, M. Freeman, C. Gollier, B. Groom, M.C. Hänsel, G.M. Heal, A. Millner, F. Nesje, M.F. Quaas, S. Smulders, T. Sterner, C. Traeger, & F. Venmans).


Public comment on the Social Cost of Carbon and the role of long-term discounting to the US Environmental Protection Agency 2023, Comment on "Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector Climate Review: EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0317-1460" (with M.C. Freeman, B. Groom, & F. Nesje).


Umweltpolitik muss Verteilungsfragen berücksichtigen, ohne das eigentliche Ziel aus den Augen zu verlieren. 

Ökonomenstimme.org, April 2022 (with Kornek, U., Meya, J.N. & L. Sager).


Public comment on the choice of the real Social Discount Rate to the US Office of Management and Budget. 

2021, Comment on: “Technical Support Document: Social Cost of Carbon, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide Interim Estimates Under Executive Order 13990” (with Freeman, M.C., Groom, B. & F. Nesje).


COVID-19 in Deutschland: Befragungsergebnisse zur Einkommenserwartung, Heterogenität in der Impfbereitschaft, Unterstützung des Infektionsschutzes und der Rückkehr zur „Normalität“. 

2021 (with Bos, B., Meya, J.N., & Quaas, M.F.). 


Antworten auf zentrale Fragen zur Einführung von CO2-Preisen. Gestaltungsoptionen und ihre Auswirkungen für den schnellen Übergang in die klimafreundliche Gesellschaft. 

Diskussionsbeiträge der Scientists for Future 2, 2019 (with Mattauch, L. et al.).


How much should we care about the future? What the experts say. 

EAERE Magazine No. 5, Spring 2019 (with Freeman, M.C., Groom, B. & F. Nesje)


Indicator-Based Analysis of the Process Towards a University in Sustainable Development: A Case Study of the University of Tübingen (Germany). 

In Leal Filho, W. (Ed.): Integrative Approaches to Sustainable Development at University Level, Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, pp. 169-183, 2015. (with Meisch, S., Hagemann, N., Geibel, J., & Gebhard, E.).


Change from below - student initiatives for universities in sustainable development. 

In: Leal Filho, W. (Ed.): Sustainable Development at Universities: New Horizons, Peter Lang Scientific Publishers, Frankfurt, pp. 733-42, 2012 (with Esguerra, A., Keul, L., Loew Beer, D., Meisch, S. & F. Roosen-Runge).


Wissenschaft für nachhaltige Entwicklung! 

Metropolis, Marburg, 2012 (with Meisch, S., Drupp, M.A., Roosen-Runge, F., Keul, L., Esguerra, A. & J. Geibel for Greening the University e.V. (Eds.).). 


Bottom-up Engagement für Nachhaltige Entwicklung: Erfahrungen, Chancen und Grenzen

in: Greening the University e.V. (Eds.): Wissenschaft für nachhaltige Entwicklung! Metropolis, Marburg 2012, pp. 91-118 (with Roosen-Runge, F., Keul, L. & A. Esguerra). 


Aktionsmöglichkeit für Studierende und Motivationen

in: StudierendenInitiative Greening the University e.V. (Eds.): Greening the University – Perspektiven für eine nachhaltige Hochschule, oekom Verlag, München 2009, pp. 132-137 (with Keul, L.).

Teaching:


University of Hamburg


BSc seminar: Inequality and the Environment (Summer 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).


BSc seminar: The Economics of Climate Change (Winter 2018/2019, 2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2021/2022)


BSc lecture: Sustainability Economics (Winter 2018/2019, 2019/2020, 2020/2021)


MSc lecture: Cost-Benefit Analysis (Summer 2019)


MSc seminar: The Economics and Politics of Climate Change (Summer 2023)


PhD seminar in Environmental and Resource Economics (Summer 2019, Summer and Winter 2020, Summer 2021, 2023, 2024), with A. Lange and G. Perino



MOOLs (Massive Open Online Lectures)


I have also recorded two MOOLs designed as background information for high-school teachers (in German only) for the "Teach Economy" program of the Joachim Herz Stiftung. You can register for this program here:


Grundlagen der Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitsökonomik – Wirtschaft und Umweltschutz, wie passt das zusammen?


Grundlagen der Klimaökonomik – Können wir mit Ökonomik das Klima retten?



Kiel University


MSc seminar: Resource Economics  (2014-2015), with M.F. Quaas et al.



University of Tübingen


Sustainable Economic Policy (2012-2016), with J. Geibel


Defining and measuring sustainability (2012, 2015), with S. Meisch et al.


Teaching Assistant for Intermediate Macroeconomics (2010-2011)


Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Economics (2008-2009)