Hi! I am a PhD candidate at the Environmental and Natural Resources Economics Group of Wageningen University, The Netherlands. I am an applied microeconomist interested in studying how society adapts to climate change, and how policies to manage climate risk should be designed to be effective and equitable.

My dissertation focuses on climate risk, climate adaptation, and water extremes. For example, I combine geospatial data with a web-based experiment to study how homeowners in The Netherlands react to information on flood risk at their address. My CV is here.

Working papers

Information frictions, overconfidence, and learning: Experimental evidence from a floodplain
PDF | PAP | Replication package and documentation (also in PDF)

Abstract

I use an online experiment to study whether offering information to floodplain residents is sufficient to change their perceived risk exposure and demand for insurance. Participants are offered information on the flood risk profile at their address and on the national rules over compensation of flood damages. I find that respondents tend to misperceive their risk category according to publicly available flood maps, but express high levels of confidence in their guesses. When not prompted to engage with the information they are offered, one third of them read nothing. When prompted to read information on their risk profile, respondents —particularly residents of high risk areas— tend to stop reading any further and report a lower willingness-to-pay for insurance, but do not update their beliefs differently on average. Spontaneous comments from participants suggest backlash to information emphasizing personal responsibility, concern over their house losing value, distrust towards information from government and media, and aversion to insurance companies.

Expanding horizons: A randomized controlled trial on adolescents’ career information acquisition
CESifo Working Paper No. 11225 | PAP
with Esther Gehrke, Friederike Lenel and Claudia Schupp

Abstract

We implement a randomized controlled trial in a low-income context to investigate whether students in lower-secondary school acquire information about potential career paths more effectively if this information is ordered by the congruence be- tween the careers and the students’ personality and preceded by a task that allows students to explore their own interests. We find that self-exploration in combination with the personalized display increases students’ information acquisition. Stu- dents also read about more diverse career paths. In particular, low-performing students shift their focus from occupations that require a university education towards potentially more achievable careers that require a high-school degree.

Public flood maps fail to guide household adaptation
with Anna Abatayo and Andries Richter

Abstract

Flooding is one of the most damaging natural disasters worldwide, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communi- ties. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of flooding, necessitating effective adaptation across all levels of society. While higher expected flood damages call for stronger household adaptation, limited access to information and lacking resources may prevent optimal decisions. Despite advances in flood mapping and research on household adapta- tion, the link between expected damages and adaptation decisions remains unknown. Here, we study the relationship between household adaptation measures and flood exposure in the Netherlands – a “best case scenario” due to its accurate flood risk information and recent flood experiences. Using publicly available flood maps, a national hydraulic model, and a large-scale survey, we reveal a significant mismatch between private adaptation measures and objective flood risks. Expected damages could be reduced substantially if high-risk households invested more in adaptation relative to low-risk households. We also uncover high spatial heterogeneity in both flood risk and adaptation, posing challenges to identify vulnerable areas and sup- port adaptation efforts. These findings provide critical insights into the effectiveness of household adaptation, which holds important implications for public adaptation and policy design.

Selected work in progress

Droughts, irrigation and land use in Brazil, 1990-2020

Can you engineer a Silicon Valley? Long-run effects of the BioRegio-contest on innovation
with Lorenzo Romero-Fernández