Publications
Postdoctoral Researcher at Agroscope (Switzerland)
Peer-reviewed publications
Sergei Schaub and Nadja El Benni (2024). How do price (risk) changes influence farmers’ preferences to reduce fertilizer application?. Agricultural Economics.
Abstract: The decision of farmers to reduce fertilizer applications and, thus, the achievement of agri-environmental policy goals interacts with market price developments. In this study, we analyze how changes in price levels and volatility over time (i.e., 1991–2006 vs. 2007–2022)...
Ade Sander, Jaboury Ghazoul, Robert Finger, and Sergei Schaub (2024). Participation in individual and collective agri-environmental schemes: A synthesis using the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Journal of Rural Studies
Abstract: Understanding the behavioural factors that influence farmers' intentions to participate in agri-environmental schemes is crucial for delivering sustainability in agricultural landscapes. Drawing on a qualitative synthesis approach, we seek to understand ...
Yanbing Wang, Sergei Schaub, David Wuepper, and Robert Finger (2023). Culture and agricultural biodiversity conservation. Food Policy, 120, 102482.
Abstract: Farmers’ behavior towards sustainable agricultural production is key to reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture and conserving biodiversity. We investigate the causal effect of culture on pro-environmental behaviors of farmers, and...
Sergei Schaub et al. (2023). The role of behavioural factors and opportunity costs in farmers' participation in voluntary agri-environmental schemes: A systematic review. Journal of Agricultural Economics.
Abstract: Agri-environmental schemes (AESs) are increasingly implemented to promote the adoption of environmentally friendly practices by farmers. We use a systematic review...
Noemi Elmiger, Robert Finger, Jaboury Ghazoul, and Sergei Schaub (2023). Biodiversity indicators for result-based agri-environmental schemes – Current state and future prospects. Agricultural Systems, 204, 103538.
Abstract: Many agricultural policies target the conservation of biodiversity worldwide. Result-based agri-environmental schemes can be more effective and efficient than the more commonly used action-based schemes. ...
Sergei Schaub (2022). Global relationships between time preference and environmental policy performance. Environmental Science & Policy, 128, 102-109.
Abstract: How our governments deal with environmental crises can depend on national culture, including time preference (i.e., short- vs. long-term orientation). Here, we follow up on the hypothesis that long-term orientation increases environmental...
Sergei Schaub, Robert Finger, Nina Buchmann, Vera Steiner, Valentin H Klaus (2021). The costs of diversity: higher prices for more diverse grassland seed mixtures. Environmental Research Letters, 16, 094011.
Abstract: Globally, we face a dramatic biodiversity loss in agricultural systems as well as severe ecosystem degradation. In grasslands, higher biodiversity in terms of plant diversity was shown to increase the diversity...
Sergei Schaub, et al. (2021). Reply to: “Results from a biodiversity experiment fail to represent economic performance of semi-natural grasslands”. Nature Communications, 12, 2124.
Abstract: In Schaub et al.1, we analyzed plant diversity effects on biomass yield, forage quality, quality-adjusted yield (biomass yield × forage quality) and revenues across different management intensities...
Sergei Schaub, Robert Huber, Robert Finger (2020). Tracking societal concerns on pesticides – a Google Trends analysis. Environmental Research Letters, 15, 084049.
Abstract: We analyze public interest in pesticides and plant protection products over time utilizing Google Trends data for Switzerland from 2011 until 2019. We find that the aggregated public interest...
Sergei Schaub, Robert Finger (2020). Effects of drought on hay and feed grain prices. Environmental Research Letters, 15, 034014.
Abstract: Droughts represent a severe and increasing risk for the livestock sector as they can reduce yields of hay and feed grain. Droughts are predicted to increase in frequency and magnitude under...
Sergei Schaub, Nina Buchmann, Andreas Lüscher, Robert Finger (2020). Economic benefits from plant species diversity in intensively managed grasslands. Ecological Economics, 168, 106488.
Abstract: Grasslands cover a major share of the world’s agricultural area and are important for global food security. Plant species diversity in grasslands...
Sergei Schaub, et al. (2020). Plant diversity effects on forage quality, yield and revenues of semi-natural grasslands. Nature Communications, 11, 1-11.
Abstract: In agricultural settings, plant diversity is often associated with low biomass yield and forage quality, while biodiversity experiments typically find the opposite. We address this controversy by...
Work under review and in preperation
See my CV for details.