Conference Agenda

Using data from a survey of a large representative sample of the population in Japan, we study people’s willingness to implement pro-environmental behaviors and the reputational impact of implementing the behaviors. The results show that not only does the reputational impact differ between the various pro-environmental behaviors, but also how important the reputational impact is for the implementation of pro-environmental behaviors. Visibility of behaviors can only partially explain when reputation is important for the implementation and when it is not. Instead, the differences can best be explained by the prevalence of the behavior. The reputational impact is not important for behaviors that are either widespread or rare, while the reputational impact is important for behaviors with a medium prevalence. We discuss possible reasons and implications of these novel findings.

Prosocial behavior plays a role in many economic contexts, and it has been explained by altruism, social pressure, signaling, and expectations of fairness and reciprocity. We examine prosocial behavior in a context that allows us to distinguish the role of self-signaling and social signaling from alternative explanations, including warm glow. Our context is residential solar, and self-signaling is separately identified from social signaling by the exogenous visibility of potential solar arrays. We show that the political affiliation of proximate peers influences the extent of self-signaling and is crowded out by the private benefits of installing solar.

Energy efficiency certification is a central instrument of climate and housing policy. This study provides the first evidence on whether, and to what extent, ambient temperature at the time of inspection distorts the assessors’ energy performance certificate (EPC) scoring decisions. Using a dataset of over 18.5 million EPCs from England and Wales (2008–2025) linked with high-frequency weather and pollution data, we uncover a strong non-linear and asymmetric relationship between temperature and EPC scores: extreme cold significantly inflates scores, while heat generates smaller but systematic downward adjustments. On days below −5 °C, scores rise by about 1.6 points, which is large enough to push many properties across EPC rating thresholds. We identify behavioural mechanisms related to assessor effort and cognitive performance. Cold conditions reduce assessors’ effort in conducting detailed on-site checks, resulting in upward-biased efficiency scores, whereas heat impairs attention and judgment, leading to stricter evaluation. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that temperature-induced upgrades near lower rating thresholds can raise house prices by £5,220–7,250 using the annual average UK dwelling price of 2024. Our findings reveal a previously overlooked channel through which climate-related temperature variation undermines the reliability of environmental policy and the efficiency of housing markets.

To achieve deep decarbonisation, the design of climate policy needs to account for consumption choices being influenced not only by pricing but also by social learning. This involves changes that pertain to the whole spectrum of consumption, likely involving shifts in lifestyles. In this regard, it is crucial to consider social learning not only in the short term but also slower and longer-term cultural change. Against this background, we analyse the interaction between climate policy and cultural change, focusing on carbon pricing. We extend the notion of “social multiplier” of environmental policy derived in an earlier study to the context of multiple consumer needs while allowing for behavioural spillovers between these, giving rise to a “cultural multiplier”. We develop a model to assess how this multiplier contributes to the effectiveness of carbon pricing. Our results show that the cultural multiplier stimulates a greater reduction in emissions compared to fixed preferences and the social multiplier. These findings are also good news for policy acceptance since the cultural multiplier greatly increases the effectiveness of a carbon price, meaning a lower price suffices for a given emissions-reduction goal. At high carbon prices, the distinction between social and cultural multiplier effects diminishes, as the strong price signal drives even resistant individuals toward low-carbon consumption. By varying economic and social conditions, such as substitutability between low- and high-carbon goods, social network structure, proximity of like-minded individuals, diversity of consumption lifestyles, and heterogeneity of preferences, the model provides insight into how cultural change can be leveraged to secure maximum effectiveness of climate policy.

Climate change is increasingly cited as a reason for foregoing childbearing. This paper investigates the prevalence of this phenomenon and the channels through which climate risk shapes fertility plans. I field a new online survey of individuals of childbearing age living in Europe, collecting detailed information on realized fertility and intentions, climate-related beliefs and emotions, and residential histories, which I combine with high-frequency weather data to construct an index of lifetime exposure to climate change. 75\% of respondents feel pessimistic about future impacts of climate change and their own life and family, one quarter report that climate change influences their decision to become parents, and about 7\% report regretting having had children; these groups tend to have lived in locations with larger departures from their historical climate.

To understand these patterns, I develop a two-period life-cycle model in which couples choose whether and when to have children under an uncertain future climate state. Couples differ both in their preference for children and in climate-related anxiety. A bad climate realization affects fertility through (i) an aggregate channel, where climate change raises prices via inflation, and (ii) an idiosyncratic channel, where climate anxiety creates a disutility from raising children in a deteriorating climate. The model delivers predictions on how lifetime exposure and climate anxiety jointly shape the timing and level of childbearing, which I confront with the survey evidence to shed light on the mechanisms behind delayed or forgone births.

Crop residue burning (CRB) remains a major environmental challenge in India’s rice–wheat system, contributing to air pollution and soil degradation. This study provides new empirical evidence on the joint decision-making process underlying farmers’ adoption of crop residue management (CRM) machinery and their residue-burning behavior. Using household survey data from Punjab and bivariate probit models, we identify structural, behavioural, and spatial determinants shaping both choices. The results show a significant and negative correlation of unobserved factors between CRM adoption and burning, indicating that both are jointly influenced by shared production constraints such as limited turnaround time, cost of cultivation, and field accessibility. The correlation is more negative for complete burners and weaker for partial burners, suggesting distinct structural and behavioural contexts that require differentiated interventions. While larger farmers adopt more CRM machinery yet continue burning for efficiency, smallholders face access barriers and equipment incompatibility. These findings highlight that technological access alone is insufficient; effective policy must pair equitable

machinery access and spatial infrastructure with behavioural and institutional measures that promote sustained no-burn practices.

This study employs a Discrete Choice Experiment with 1,224 rice-growing farmers

across Punjab to quantify preferences for no-burn crop residue management (CRM)

technologies relative to the status quo of residue burning. Using a Random Parameter Logit framework, the analysis reveals that farmers, on average, prefer no-burn CRM alternatives, conditional on implementation attributes. Preferences for incorporationbased technologies—Smart Seeder and Super Seeder—are statistically indistinguishable, while mulching via the Happy Seeder is strongly disfavoured. Logistical reliability emerges as a dominant determinant of adoption: shorter machinery waiting times command substantial positive willingness-to-pay, underscoring the importance of timely access during narrow sowing windows. Adoption decisions are further shaped by economic perceptions; farmers who associate CRM with yield gains and fuel savings are significantly more likely to transition, whereas those perceiving high machinery costs or operating larger landholdings exhibit greater resistance. Overall, the findings suggest that residue burning persists due to biomass logistics and service delivery failures rather than farmer inertia, underscoring the need for policies that strengthen in-situ service provision, scheduling reliability, and hybrid advisory systems to enable sustainable biomass management.