Professor Robert D. Metcalfe

Robert D. Metcalfe

Professor of International and Public Affairs

SIPA Professorship of Energy Policy  ·  Columbia University

↓ Curriculum Vitae Google Scholar RePEc Twitter / X LinkedIn Bluesky Email
Applied Microeconomics Environmental & Energy Economics Behavioral & Experimental Economics Labor / Personnel Economics Public Economics

Selected Publications

J. Political Economy Forthcoming
Management and Productivity in Retail

Metcalfe, R., Sollaci, A., Syverson, C.

American Economic Review 2026
A Welfare Analysis of Policies Impacting Climate Change

Hahn, R., Hendren, N., Metcalfe, R., Sprung-Keyser, B.

Ungated PDF Full Appendix
Review of Economic Studies 2026
Do the Effects of Social Nudges Persist? Theory and Evidence from 38 Natural Field Experiments in Energy Conservation

Brandon, A., Ferraro, P., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M., Rundhammer, F.

Ungated PDF
J. Public Economics 2026
Race and Redistribution in the United States: An Experimental Analysis

Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Rasooly, I.

Management Science 2023
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.

Ungated PDF
American Economic Review 2022
Measuring the Welfare Effects of Shame and Pride

Butera, L., Morrison, W., Metcalfe, R., Taubinsky, D.

Ungated PDF Slides
J. Risk and Uncertainty 2022
Fatalism, Beliefs, and Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Akesson, J., Ashworth-Hayes, S., Hahn, R., Metcalfe R., Rasooly, I.

American Economic Review 2021
Efficiency and Equity Impacts of Energy Subsidies

Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R.

Ungated PDF Slides
Economics of Education Review 2021
Understanding the Response to Financial and Non-financial Incentives in Education

Burgess, S., Metcalfe, R., Sadoff, S.

Ungated PDF
J. Political Economy 2020 · Lead Article
The Impact of Management Practices on Employee Productivity: A Field Experiment with Airline Captains

Gosnell, G., List, J., Metcalfe, R.

Harvard Business Review Ungated PDF Slides
PNAS 2019
Testing for Crowd Out in Social Nudges: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment in the Market for Electricity

Brandon, A., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M., Rundhammer, F.

J. Public Economics 2019
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.

J. Public Economics 2019
Students' Effort and Educational Achievement: Using the Timing of the World Cup to Vary the Value of Leisure

Metcalfe, R., Burgess, S., Proud, S.

J. Public Economics 2017
The Behavioralist as Tax Collector: Using Natural Field Experiments to Enhance Tax Compliance

Hallsworth, M., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Vlaev, I.

Working Papers

R&R · American Economic Review Expecting Climate Change: Evidence from a Nationwide Field Experiment in the Housing Market

Fairweather, D., Kahn, M., Metcalfe, R., Sandoval-Olascoaga, S.

Conditionally Accepted · AEJ: Economic Policy 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.

R&R · AEJ: Economic Policy The Human Perils of Scaling Smart Technologies: Evidence from Field Experiments

Brandon, A., Clapp, C., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M.

R&R · AEJ: Economic Policy Decarbonizing Heat: The Impact of Heat Pumps and a Time-of-Use Heat Pump Tariff on Energy Demand

Bernard, L., Hackett, A., Metcalfe, R., Schein, A.

Executive Summary
R&R · AEJ: Economic Policy Making the Invisible Visible: The Impacts of Revealing Indoor Air Pollution on Behavior and Welfare

Metcalfe, R., Roth, S.

Conditionally Accepted · Economic Journal Do Water Audits Work?

Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Kochhar, R., Metcalfe, R.

R&R · J. Environmental Economics and Management Smart Meters: Do Their Prices Matter to Their Adoption and Do They Save Energy?

List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M.

The Impact of Dynamic Prices on Electric Vehicle Public Charging Demand: Evidence from a Nationwide Natural Field Experiment

Bernard, L., Hackett, A., Metcalfe, R., Panzone, L., Schein, A.

AI in Charge: Large-Scale Experimental Evidence on Electric Vehicle Charging Demand

Metcalfe, R., Simpson, C., Schein, A., Sun, Y.

Proposed Mergers Where Efficiencies Are Needed Most Might Be the Least Likely to Deliver Them

Metcalfe, R., Sollaci, A., Syverson, C.

Welfare Effects of Shifting Public Transit Demand

Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Tam, E.

The Impact of Fake Reviews on Demand and Welfare

Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Monti-Nussbaum, M.

Using Big Data to Estimate Consumer Surplus: The Case of Uber

Cohen, P., Hahn, R., Hall, J., Metcalfe, R., Levitt, S.

Harnessing Policy Complementarities to Conserve Energy: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment

List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M., Rundhammer, F.

Work in Progress

Measuring Large-Scale Energy Demand Flexibility: Evidence from a Nationwide Natural Field Experiment

Bernard, L., Metcalfe, R., Schein, A.

A Demand-Side Alternative to Renewable Curtailment: Natural Field Experimental Evidence from Two Countries

Lopez, D., Metcalfe, R., Schein, A., Sun, Y.

The Impact of Solar and Battery on Energy Demand: Evidence from a Nationwide Natural Field Experiment

Metcalfe, R., Schein, A., Sun, Y.

Information Frequency, Cognition, and Risk: A Natural Field Experiment with Professional Traders

Larson, F., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Rodemeier, M.

Inside the Brokers: Evidence from Real Estate

Fairweather, D., Metcalfe, R., Nguyen, T.M.A.

Impact of Management on Maritime Productivity and Emissions

Du, X., Metcalfe, R.

Are Bad Social Norms Good?

Akesson, J., Conti, R., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Rasooly, I.

Teaching

The Economics of Energy
Masters level · Columbia University, SIPA
Syllabus
Experimental Economics
PhD level · Columbia University, Economics & SIPA
Syllabus

PhD Students

Current
Clara Berestycki Columbia SIPA
Fanyu Wang Columbia SIPA
Charlie Hutchinson UCLA
Andrew Schein LSE
Placed
Hannah Farkas Columbia SIPA, 2026
Duke post-doc → McMaster AP
Anna Papp Columbia SIPA, 2025
MIT Econ post-doc → UCSB Bren AP
Francesco Gabriele USC, 2025
HKUST AP
Ruozi Song USC, 2023
World Bank Research Group, Research Economist
Pre-doctoral Students
Navya Kumar Columbia SIPA, 2024–
Lukas Puschnig USC, 2023–2024
LMU Munich PhD
Lillian Bartholomew USC, 2022–2024
RAND PhD
Xidi Zhang USC, 2022–2024
University of Notre Dame PhD
Zhihan Liu USC, 2022–2023
USC PhD
Victor Mylonas USC, 2021–2022
IMF

Bio

I have previously worked at the University of Chicago, University of Southern California, Boston University, and University of Oxford. I have also 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 family and neighborhood in Swansea, United Kingdom, and am a first-generation college graduate.

I am also co-founder of two companies: The Behavioralist and Signol.