Robert D. Metcalfe
Associate Professor of Economics (with tenure)
Department of Economics
University of Southern California
Co-Editor, Journal of Public Economics
Associate Editor, Journal of Political Economy: Microeconomics
Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Affiliate, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
Chief Economist, Centre for Net Zero, Octopus Energy Group
Curriculum Vitae | Google Scholar | RePEc | Twitter | LinkedIn
I am an applied microeconomist, where my research focuses on using field experimental methods to understand human behavior in consumer markets and within organizations. A running theme in my research is to understand such behavior and the measurement of welfare in the presence of behavioral imperfections and externalities, such as pollution, climate change, congestion, and market power.
Fields: Applied microeconomics; environmental & energy economics; behavioral & experimental economics; labor/personnel economics; public economics.
Working Papers:
Smart Meters: Do Their Prices Matter to Their Adoption and Do They Save Energy?
List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M. Revise and resubmit, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management
The Value of Time in the United States: Estimates from Nationwide Natural Field Experiments
Goldszmidt, A., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Muir, I., Smith, K., Wang, J. Under review.
The Human Perils of Scaling Smart Technologies: Evidence from Field Experiments
Brandon, A., Clapp, C., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M. Under review.
Brandon, A., Ferraro, P., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M., Rundhammer, F. Under review.
[Slides]
Welfare Estimates of Shifting Peak Travel
Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Tam, E.
Management and Productivity in Retail
Metcalfe, R., Sollaci, A., Syverson, C.
Larson, F., List, J., Metcalfe, R. Reject and resubmit, Econometrica
[Slides]
Race and Redistribution in the United States: An Experimental Analysis
Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Rasooly, I. Under review.
Using Big Data to Estimate Consumer Surplus: The Case of Uber
Cohen, P., Hahn, R., Hall, J., Metcalfe, R., Levitt, S. Under review.
[Slides]
The Making of Homo Honoratus: From Omission to Commission
Hallsworth, M., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Vlaev, I. Under review.
Harnessing Policy Complementarities to Conserve Energy: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment
List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M., Rundhammer, F.
What Motivates People to Pay their Taxes? Evidence from Four Experiments on Tax Compliance
Floyd, E., Hallsworth, M., List, J.A., Metcalfe, R., Rotaru, K., Vlaev, I. Under review.
The Impact of Fake Reviews on Demand and Welfare
Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Monti-Nussbaum, M. Under review.
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Nudging Timely Wage Reporting: Field Experimental Evidence from the U.S. SSI Program
Zhang, C.Y., Hemmeter, J., Kessler, J.B., Metcalfe, R., Weathers, R. (2023) Management Science
Measuring the Welfare Effects of Shame and Pride
Butera, L., Morrison, W., Metcalfe, R., Taubinsky, D. (2022) American Economic Review
[Ungated PDF] [Slides] [Click for Charity user interface] [Download QSF files for Prolific version]
Fatalism, Beliefs, and Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Akesson, J., Ashworth-Hayes, S., Hahn, R., Metcalfe R., Rasooly, I. (2022) Journal of Risk and Uncertainty
Efficiency and Equity Impacts of Energy Subsidies.
Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R. (2021) American Economic Review
[Ungated PDF] [Slides]
Burgess, S., Metcalfe, R., Sadoff, S. (2021) Economics of Education Review
Gosnell. G., List, J., Metcalfe, R. (2020) Journal of Political Economy Lead article
[Harvard Business Review] [Ungated PDF] [Slides]
Brandon, A., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M., Rundhammer, F. (2019) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States
Quantifying the Intangible Impact of the Olympics Using Subjective Well-Being Data.
Dolan, P., Kavetsos, G., Krekel, C., Mavridis, D., Metcalfe, R., Senik, S., Szymanski, S., Ziebarth, N. (2019) Journal of Public Economics
[Slides]
Metcalfe, R., Burgess, S., Proud, S. (2019) Journal of Public Economics
The Behavioralist as Tax Collector: Using Natural Field Experiments to Enhance Tax Compliance.
Hallsworth, M., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Vlaev, I. (2017) Journal of Public Economics
Selected work in progress:
A Welfare Analysis of Climate Change Policies
Hahn, R., Hendren, N., Metcalfe, R., Sprung-Keyser, B.
A Welfare Analysis of Regulation
Hahn, R., Hendren, N., Metcalfe, R., Sprung-Keyser, B.
Impact of Management on Maritime Productivity and Emissions
Metcalfe, R.
The Welfare Effect of Energy Debt Forgiveness
Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Tam, E.
The Impact of Liquidity on Energy Demand
Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Tam, E.
How You Pay Matters for Demand
Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R.
Estimating Switching Costs Under Full Information
Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R.
The Demand for Electric Vehicles
Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R.
The Demand for Clean Indoor Air
Metcalfe, R., Roth, S.
The Impact of Flooding Risk Information on Search and Demand: Evidence from a Nationwide Natural Field Experiment
Fairweather, D., Kahn, M., Metcalfe, R., Sandoval-Olascoaga, S.
English Auctions versus First-Price Sealed Bid Auctions: A Field Experimental Test of the Theory
Brooks, B., Metcalfe, R., Stalinski, M.
The Non-linear Impact of Social Norms
Akesson, J., Conti, R., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Rasooly, I.
Bio:
Prior to joining the University of Southern California, I was an Assistant Professor at Boston University. I was also a Postdoctoral Research Scholar of Economics at the University of Chicago and a Research Fellow of Economics at the University of Oxford. I have previously worked in the U.K. Government as an Economist, and had a short-term position as a Fellow at the Social and Behavioral Sciences Team at the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of the U.S. President. I completed my Ph.D. at Imperial College London, M.Sc. at the London School of Economics, and B.A. at the University of Wales, Swansea. I grew up in a working class neighborhood called Gendros, in Swansea, United Kingdom. I am a first-gen college graduate.
I am also co-founder of two companies, The Behavioralist and Signol.