Robert D. Metcalfe
Professor of International and Public Affairs
SIPA Professorship of Energy Policy
Columbia University
Co-Editor: Journal of Public Economics
Associate Editor: Journal of Political Economy: Microeconomics
Associate Editor: Management Science
Research Associate: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Chief Economist: Centre for Net Zero, Octopus Energy Group
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Global Energy Policy
Faculty Affiliate: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
Curriculum Vitae | Google Scholar | RePEc | Twitter | LinkedIn | Bluesky
Fields: Applied microeconomics; environmental & energy economics; behavioral & experimental economics; labor/personnel economics; public economics.
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Brandon, A., Ferraro, P., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M., Rundhammer, F. Forthcoming, Review of Economic Studies
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
The Making of Homo Honoratus: From Omission to Commission
Hallsworth, M., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Vlaev, I. (2023) Journal of Consumer Psychology
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
Metcalfe, R., Powdthavee, N., Dolan, P. (2011) Economic Journal
Working Papers:
Expecting Climate Change: Evidence from a Nationwide Field Experiment in the Housing Market
Fairweather, D., Kahn, M., Metcalfe, R., Sandoval-Olascoaga, S. Revise and resubmit, American Economic Review.
A Welfare Analysis of Policies Impacting Climate Change
Hahn, R., Hendren, N., Metcalfe, R., Sprung-Keyser, B. Revise and resubmit, American Economic Review.
Management and Productivity in Retail
Metcalfe, R., Sollaci, A., Syverson, C. Revise and resubmit, Journal of Political Economy
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. Revise and resubmit, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
The Human Perils of Scaling Smart Technologies: Evidence from Field Experiments
Brandon, A., Clapp, C., List, J., Metcalfe, R., Price, M. Revise and resubmit, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
Race and Redistribution in the United States: An Experimental Analysis
Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Rasooly, I. Revise and resubmit, Journal of Public Economics
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
Larson, F., List, J., Metcalfe, R. Reject and resubmit, Econometrica
Bernard, L., Hackett, A., Metcalfe, R., Panzone, L., Schein, A.
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]
Making the Invisible Visible: The Impacts of Revealing Indoor Air Pollution on Behavior and Welfare
Metcalfe, R., Roth, S.
Welfare Estimates of Shifting Peak Travel
Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Tam, E.
The Impact of Demand Response on Energy Consumption and Economic Welfare
Jacob, M., Jenkinson, R., Lopez Garcia, D., Metcalfe, R., Schein, A., Simpson, C., Yu, L.
Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Kochhar, R., Metcalfe, R. Under review.
The Impact of Fake Reviews on Demand and Welfare
Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Monti-Nussbaum, M. Under review.
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.
Selected work in progress:
The Impact of AI-Managed Electric Vehicle Charging
Metcalfe, R., Simpson, C., Schein, A., Sun, Y.
Inside the Brokers: Evidence from Real Estate
Fairweather, D., Metcalfe, R., Nguyen, T.M.A., Sandoval-Olascoaga, S.
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 Income on Energy Demand
Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Tam, E.
Estimating Switching Costs Under Full Information
Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R.
Are Bad Social Norms Good?
Akesson, J., Conti, R., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Rasooly, I.
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. I am a first-gen college graduate.
I am also co-founder of two companies, The Behavioralist and Signol.