Research

Market-based climate policies aim to reduce carbon emissions while minimizing economic distortions, yet their full impact on firm survival remains debated. This study analyses whether differences in free carbon permit allocation under the EU Emissions Trading System affected the emissions and exit decisions of French industrial plants. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I analyze the emissions of plants, classifying them based on relative permit allocation stringency, ownership type and availability of banked permits. I find that plants subject to stricter permit cuts reduced emissions more than their peers, but that up to one-third of these reductions was attributable to plant exits or within-firm reallocation. A survival analysis confirms that plants facing higher policy compliance costs, due to their inefficient emission intensity, were more likely to exit. These results suggest that tightening free permit allocations can lower emissions both through efficiency improvements among surviving plants and through market selection, possibly reshaping industry dynamics and emission composition.

To overcome the inherent clash between the ever-increasing push for electrification in the transportation and heating sectors, and the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources, demand response solutions such as direct load control (DLC) tariffs are receiving growing attention from researchers and policymakers. The present study aims to investigate the impact of two measures (i.e. a video intervention and an upfront subsidy) in increasing the acceptance rates of an existing DLC tariff targeted at electric vehicle charging stations and heat pumps in Switzerland. To achieve this, we combine two randomized-controlled trials: (1) a stated-choice contingent valuation on electric vehicle owners to confirm the validity of the upfront susbidy, and (2) a revealed-preference field experiment on an existing DLC tariff proposed to the clients of a local distribution system operator. Results suggest that both measures of video and monetary intervention increase contact and subscription rates to the proposed DLC tariff, although the monetary intervention appears to be more convincing to consumers. Further, we use these results in combination with a bottom-up electricity market model to simulate the consequences on the level of system cost of a large-scale implementation of a DLC tariff.

This paper investigates how firms respond to major flooding shocks and whether repeated events lead to cumulative damage or foster adaptation. Contributing to the literature on climate risks and industry dynamics, we exploit the 1999 “Lothar” storm, which triggered widespread flood disaster declarations across Northern France, as a quasi-natural experiment. Linking disaster records to administrative firm-level data, we implement staggered difference-in-differences models with propensity score matching. We find persistent output losses of 5% up to six years post-disaster and an immediate 20% destruction of inventories, but no lasting effects on employment or fixed assets. Ongoing work validates these findings using hydrological data and examines whether subsequent floods amplify damages through cumulative shocks or mitigate them through firm adaptation.

This study investigates the impact of prize “Nota 10”, a monetary award established in the state of Ceará (Brazil) to assess 2nd grade students’ alphabetization skills, on 2009 standardized national exams. Interstingly, the prize was destined to both the 150 best and worst-performing schools in the state. We use school-level data from Ceará and neighboring states to establish causality in a matched difference-in-differences setting. Results indicate that the monetary prize increased significantly grades in Portuguese and in Mathematics national exams for both types of schools.