JESSICA CORIA
I am a Professor of Environmental Economics at the ESGO Unit (Environmental Social Science and Geography) at the Department of Environmental Sciences, Aarhus University, Denmark. My research is focused on the design of effective and equitable environmental policies. I study how regulation influences behavior — whether it encourages polluters to reduce emissions, invest in cleaner technologies, or comply with environmental rules — especially when information is incomplete or uncertain.
My work combines theory and applied modeling, with recent projects examining how data gaps and informational biases shape both the likelihood of environmental regulation being implemented and the quality of its design.
My research has been published in leading field and general-interest journals, including the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (JEEM), Journal of Public Economics, Nature Communications, and Science Advances. I have served as Associate Editor for Resource and Energy Economics and on the Scientific Board of JEEM.
Alongside academic publishing, I write regularly for blogs and public outlets to share insights on environmental governance — including topics such as chemical regulation, climate policy, e-waste, and the life-cycle impacts of green innovation.
My Current Research Focus
Informational Biases and Data Gaps in Environmental Policy: I study how incomplete, biased, or strategically generated scientific evidence shapes the design, implementation, and effectiveness of environmental regulation. My work focuses especially on chemicals policy, where regulatory frameworks such as REACH rely heavily on industry-provided data, creating systematic information asymmetries that affect policy outcomes and firms’ responses to regulatory signals.
Circular Economy, E-Waste and Environmental Justice: My research examines how circular economy policies perform in practice, with a focus on e-waste flows, informal recycling, and global inequalities in exposure to health and environmental risks. I analyze how policy blind spots and lifecycle omissions shift environmental burdens across regions and populations, often undermining stated sustainability goals.
Earlier in my career, my research addressed a broader set of environmental policy issues, including climate and biodiversity conservation. This work laid the foundation for my current focus by demonstrating how uncertainty and information constraints systematically shape policy design and environmental outcomes.
