Welcome! I am a tenure-track Professor at the Technical University of Munich (W2 tt W3).
My research focuses on environmental, behavioral, and development economics.
You can find my CV here.
Contact:
Email: sebastian.tonke@tum.de
+++ NEWS: Very happy to share that I won the Joachim Herz Preis 2026 !!!
Publications
Self-Affirmation and productivity: Backfiring among those who could benefit the most [PDF]
(with Bettina Rockenbach, Sebastian Schneiders, Björn Vollan and Arne Weiss)
Economic Journal (2026, accepted)
Can Reminders Promote Regular Pro-Environmental Behavior? Experimental Evidence from Peru [PDF]
(with Hanna Fuhrmann-Riebel, Ben D'Exelle, Kristian Lopez Vargas and Arjan Verschoor)
World Development (2026), 203
Shaping Identity: Evidence From a Large-scale Field Experiment [PDF]
(single authored)
Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics (2025, accepted)
A Large-Scale Field Experiment to Decrease Non-Payment for Water: From Diagnosis to Treatment [PDF]
(with Bettina Rockenbach and Arne Weiss)
Review of Economics and Statistics (2025), 107 (5): 1233–1246.
* Junior Scholar Award at BX2016 at Harvard University *
Correcting Misperceptions about Trends and Norms to Address Weak Collective Action - Experimental Evidence from a Recycling Program [PDF]
(with Hanna Fuhrmann-Riebel, Ben D'Exelle, Kristian Lopez Vargas and Arjan Verschoor)
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (2024), 128
Providing Procedural Knowledge: Evidence from a Field Experiment to Encourage Resource Conservation in Namibia [PDF]
(single authored)
Journal of Development Economics (2024), 166
Self-serving behavior of the rich causes contagion effects among the poor [PDF]
(with B. Rockenbach and A. Weiss)
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (2021), 183, 289-300
Working Papers
Designing Effective Interventions [PDF]
(with Sebastian Riedmiller and Matthias Sutter)
Complementarities of Price and Non-Price Interventions: Evidence from the Water Sector
(with Matthias Sutter)
Work in progress
Targeting Interventions: Machine Learning vs. Survey Diagnosis (with Sebastian Riedmiller and Matthias Sutter) - Manuscript in preparation
Climate Justice Norms (with Ahana Basistha and Andreas Pondorfer) - Design Stage