Professor Robert Metcalfe | Economics

Robert D. Metcalfe

Professor of International and Public Affairs

SIPA Professorship of Energy Policy

Columbia University

robert.metcalfe@columbia.edu

Affiliated faculty member, Department of Economics, 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

Co-Director: Center for Environmental Economics and Policy, Columbia University

Faculty Affiliate, Center for Global Energy Policy

Faculty Affiliate: Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)

Fields: Applied microeconomics; environmental & energy economics; behavioral & experimental economics; labor/personnel economics; public economics.

Selected Peer-Reviewed & Forthcoming Publications:

Management and Productivity in Retail

Metcalfe, R., Sollaci, A., Syverson, C. Forthcoming, Journal of Political Economy

A Welfare Analysis of Policies Impacting Climate Change

Hahn, R., Hendren, N., Metcalfe, R., Sprung-Keyser, B. Forthcoming, American Economic Review.

[Full Appendix]

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. (2026) Review of Economic Studies

Race and Redistribution in the United States: An Experimental Analysis

Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Metcalfe, R., Rasooly, I. (2026) Journal of Public Economics

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

[Ungated PDF]

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]

Understanding the Response to Financial and Non-financial Incentives in Education: Field Experimental Evidence using High-stakes Assessments

Burgess, S., Metcalfe, R., Sadoff, S. (2021) Economics of Education Review

[Ungated PDF]

The Impact of Management Practices on Employee Productivity: A Field Experiment with Airline Captains.

Gosnell. G., List, J., Metcalfe, R. (2020) Journal of Political Economy Lead article

[Harvard Business Review] [Ungated PDF] [Slides]

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. (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]

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

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

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.

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. Conditionalluy accepted, 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

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] Revise and resubmit, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy

Making the Invisible Visible: The Impacts of Revealing Indoor Air Pollution on Behavior and Welfare

Metcalfe, R., Roth, S. Revise and resubmit, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy

Do Water Audits Work?

Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Kochhar, R., Metcalfe, R. Conditionalluy accepted, Economic Journal.

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 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. 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:

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 on Negative Prices in Two Countries

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., Sandoval-Olascoaga, S.

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.

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.