{"title":"The impact of real-time energy consumption feedback on residential gas and electricity usage","authors":"Mirthe Boomsma , Kees Vringer , Daan van Soest","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103163","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103163","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We implemented a Randomized Controlled Trial to estimate the impact of real-time energy consumption feedback on residential energy use. A random half of the participant households were offered an energy consumption monitor that uses smart-meter data to relay real-time information on energy use. The feedback resulted in natural gas and electricity savings of, respectively, 6.9 and 2.2 percent; the total amount of energy consumed was reduced by 5.8 percent. We probe the underlying mechanisms by means of a survey and find suggestive evidence that the display’s main impact is via raising the salience of the costs of using energy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 103163"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144069332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“Size-dependent” environmental regulations and spatial labor allocation","authors":"ShiYi Chen , EnDong Liang , ChaoLiang Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103158","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103158","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rich evidence shows that the large and more developed cities in China (as in many other countries) enforce stricter environmental regulations. On one hand, stringent regulations have negative impacts on the local labor market, leading to labor outflow into small cities with lower productivity and “dirtier” industrial structure. On the other hand, better environment quality (as a result of the regulations) is also an attraction for domestic immigrants. This paper is the first to use a quantitative spatial model to study the consequences of spatially “size-dependent” urban environmental policies. We find that higher aggregate productivity and fewer total emissions can be simultaneously achieved by reducing the existing “size-dependent” variation of environmental regulations in China. Moreover, to meet a given overall abatement target, urging the largest cities to further tighten the regulations may do the most damage to the economy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 103158"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143852306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"To go electric or to burn coal? A randomized field experiment of informational nudges","authors":"Hanming Fang , King King Li , Peiyao Shen","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103155","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103155","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coal heating in residential homes is an important source of indoor air pollution, leading to detrimental health effects. We conduct a randomized field experiment in northern China using three types of SMS campaigns targeting three potential biases that may hinder the adoption of electric heating: Cost SMS campaign, designed to address the overestimation of electricity expenses; Health SMS campaign, aimed at addressing the underestimation of health damage associated with coal heating; and Social Comparison SMS campaign, intended to inform households about the popularity of electric heating. We find that the Cost SMS backfires: it instead leads to a substantial reduction in electric heating. This can be attributed to salience bias induced by the Cost SMS, which drew heightened attention to the cost of electricity. The Health SMS is ineffective for households that underestimate the health damage of coal heating. Social Comparison SMS is only effective for a small proportion of households who were concerned about their neighbors’ heating choices. Overall, our findings suggest that SMS campaigns targeting these biases are largely ineffective, and caution should be exercised when applying plausible nudge interventions. The findings also suggest that households may be motivated to maintain their beliefs and resist paternalistic interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 103155"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143847790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The path to net zero emissions","authors":"Michael Olaf Hoel","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103177","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103177","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To reach the goals of the Paris agreement, net carbon emissions must be reduced to zero by the second half of this century. To achieve this, some kind of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is needed. The paper gives an analysis of the interaction between extraction of fossil energy resources and CDR. If there is sufficient capacity for storing captured carbon, it will be optimal to have a period of negative net emissions. In this case cumulative extraction will not depend on climate costs, but will be higher the lower is the cost of CDR at low levels of CDR.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 103177"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144069329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Johannes Brehm , Nico Pestel , Sandra Schaffner , Laura Schmitz
{"title":"From Low Emission Zone to academic track: Environmental policy effects on educational achievement in elementary school","authors":"Johannes Brehm , Nico Pestel , Sandra Schaffner , Laura Schmitz","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103165","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103165","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Do long-term improvements in air quality influence children’s educational outcomes? This paper investigates the impact of Low Emission Zones (LEZs), which restrict access to designated areas for emission-intensive vehicles, on the educational achievement of elementary school students in Germany. Using school-level data from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, we exploit the staggered introduction of LEZs since 2008 with a difference-in-differences approach. LEZ implementations increase transition rates to the academic track in secondary education by approximately one percentage point, or 2.4 percent. We validate this finding using more aggregated district-level data across all of Germany. Our findings imply sizable educational co-benefits of reductions in air pollution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 103165"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143941198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of temperature exposures on early childhood cognitive development and home environment","authors":"Wenjie Wu , Zhe Yang , Jun Hyung Kim , Ai Yue","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103162","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103162","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Daily exposure to suboptimal temperature with inadequate protection can undermine children’s development, but evidence is limited in the range of temperature and the set of developmental outcomes. Using a unique panel study in disadvantaged rural communities, we find that children’s exposures to low temperature undermine cognitive development during early childhood. In addition, caregiver–child interactions and material investments are lower for households exposed to low temperature, highlighting their limited capacity to adapt and the potential for persistent effects on children’s long-term outcomes through home environment. Our findings show the need to account for a broad range of temperature variations when promoting children’s development, and propose home environment as a novel policy channel to counter the negative temperature effects on children.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 103162"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143883107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The value of cleaner waterways: Evidence from the Black-and-Odorous water program","authors":"Yue Yu , Qianyang Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103159","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103159","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the economic impacts of cleaning up heavily polluted waterways in urban neighborhoods. We leverage the Black-and-Odorous water program, a major urban environmental campaign in China, as a natural experiment to identify the causal impact of cleaner waterways on local housing prices, housing supply, and business growth. Implemented in 2016, the program remediated heavily polluted waterways in China’s 36 most developed cities. Using a difference-in-differences estimator, we find that the program mainly benefits properties within 1 mile of cleaned-up waterways: These properties saw a 2.3 % appreciation in market value after the program. Beyond the impacts on the housing market, we identify two novel mechanisms associated with community revitalization following pollution management and examine their implications for housing prices. First, new real estate developments near treated waterways are more likely to offer high-end units after the program. Second, service businesses flourish in neighborhoods near cleaned waterways, indicating a commercial rejuvenation of these areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 103159"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144069331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does freight structure transformation improve air quality?–Evidence from China's “shifting freight from truck to rail” policy","authors":"Yuchao Liang, Guohua Zheng, Jinuo Wang, Jun Pang","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103179","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103179","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>China proactively reshaped its freight system to combat air pollution from the transportation sector. This paper focuses on the “Shifting Freight from Truck to Rail” (SFTR) policy, and examines the environmental consequences of expanding railway transport system while curbing heavy trucks in road freight. Combine the high-frequency air pollution data with meteorology data, utilizing the augmented regression discontinuity in time-series (RDiT), we found that the implementation of SFTR led to a respective decrease of 13.9 %, 12.5 %, and 4.2 % in the concentrations of PM<sub>2.5</sub>, PM<sub>10</sub>, and NO<sub>2</sub> in the Bohai Rim region. Our empirical findings withstand an alternative specification of generalized difference-in-differences (DiD) method and a series of robustness checks. Preliminary calculations indicate that the health and economic output benefits of SFTR in the Bohai Rim region amount to approximately $24.99 billion, with the cost of expanding freight railway infrastructure and firms’ compliance cost totaling $4.05 billion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 103179"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144069333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jacob Gellman , Margaret Walls , Matthew Wibbenmeyer
{"title":"Welfare losses from wildfire smoke: Evidence from daily outdoor recreation data","authors":"Jacob Gellman , Margaret Walls , Matthew Wibbenmeyer","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103166","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103166","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wildfire smoke pollution is growing in the western United States. Estimates of health impacts from smoke are numerous, but few revealed preference estimates of its damages exist. We study a setting where individuals are directly exposed to smoke and where avoidance behavior is measured with high frequency: outdoor recreation. We combine millions of administrative campground reservation records with satellite data on wildfire, smoke, and air pollution. The data allow us to model sequential recreation decisions under evolving information using a novel control function approach. We estimate wildfire smoke reduces welfare by $107 per person per trip. These damages are larger when campgrounds are affected by consecutive days of smoke. Back-of-the-envelope calculations imply 21.5 million outdoor recreation visits in the western United States are affected by smoke every year, with annual welfare losses of $2.3 billion. These findings contribute to a growing body of evidence on the costs of wildfire smoke.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"132 ","pages":"Article 103166"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143894528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Congestion pricing with electric vehicle exemptions: Car-ownership effects and other behavioral adjustments","authors":"Elisabeth T. Isaksen , Bjørn G. Johansen","doi":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103154","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103154","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Decarbonizing transportation requires a shift from conventional to zero-emission vehicles. We examine whether congestion pricing with electric vehicle (EV) exemptions accelerates this transition by encouraging a shift toward cleaner cars. To identify causal effects, we combine administrative data on car ownership with a triple-differences design that exploits household-level variation in policy exposure across metropolitan areas and work commutes. We find that higher rush hour charges for conventional vehicles significantly increase EV adoption, primarily through replacement rather than fleet expansion. However, responses vary by socioeconomic characteristics, with higher-income and well-educated households more likely to adopt EVs. Beyond car ownership, we document behavioral adjustments, including relocation to avoid tolls, re-routing around the cordon, and shifting travel timing. Overall, congestion pricing reduced traffic volumes and improved air quality. Our findings offer insights for designing equitable and effective transportation policies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15763,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management","volume":"131 ","pages":"Article 103154"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143816631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}