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Robert D. Metcalfe

Professor of International and Public Affairs

SIPA Professorship of Energy Policy

Columbia University

rdm2176@columbia.edu

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)

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

RM Picture Feb2024_edited.jpg

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

Working Papers:

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. Revise and resubmit, Review of Economic Studies

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

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 

Can Myopic Loss Aversion Explain the Equity Premium Puzzle? Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment with Professional Traders 

Larson, F., List, J., Metcalfe, R. Reject and resubmit, Econometrica 

A Welfare Analysis of Policies Impacting Climate Change 

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

Expecting Climate Change: Evidence from a Nationwide Field Experiment in the Housing Market 

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

The Human Perils of Scaling Smart Technologies: Evidence from Field Experiments

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

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]

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.

Do Water Audits Work?

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.

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.  

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

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

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

[Ungated PDF]

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]

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

Destruction and Distress: Using a Quasi‐Experiment to Show the Effects of the September 11 Attacks on Mental Well‐Being in the United Kingdom.

Metcalfe, R., Powdthavee, N., Dolan, P. (2011) Economic Journal

Selected work in progress:

The Impact of Automatic Electric Vehicle Charging on Energy Demand

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

Making the Invisible Visible: The Impacts of Real-Time Feedback on Indoor Air Pollution

Metcalfe, R., Roth, 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. 

Conserving Water in the Desert: A Natural Field Experiment

Akesson, J., Hahn, R., Hutchinson, C., Khalifa, A., Metcalfe, R.

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 neighborhood in Swansea, United Kingdom. I am a first-gen college graduate. 

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

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