Working Papers
Strategic Ignorance and Perceived Control
with Tillmann Eymess, Angelika Budjan, and Alice SoldÃ
Revise and Resubmit at the Economic Journal
Abstract: Information can trigger unpleasant emotions. As a result, individuals might be tempted to willfully ignore it. We experimentally investigate whether increasing perceived control can mitigate strategic ignorance. Participants from India were presented with a choice to receive information about the health risk associated with air pollution and later asked to recall it. We find that perceived control leads to a substantial improvement in information retention. Moreover, perceived control mostly benefits optimists, who show both a reduction in information avoidance and an increase in information retention. This latter result is confirmed with a US sample. A theoretical framework rationalizes these findings.
Link to working paper
Media coverage: Psychology Today
Relative Income and Preferences for Public Goods
with Tillmann Eymess and Angelika Budjan
Under review
Abstract: Guided by a theoretical framework, we study how perceived relative income affects preferences for public goods. In a randomized survey experiment, we inform respondents from India of their official income rank and elicit preferences for air quality, including actual contributions to environmental initiatives. Right-wing supporters withdraw contributions when perceived relative income increases. The effect coincides with diminished health concerns and lower intentions to utilize private protection measures against air pollution. In contrast, center-left supporters do not reduce contributions. A second survey experiment demonstrates the causality of the relationship using a novel treatment that exogenously shifts relative income perceptions.
Link to working paper
Racial Disparities in Environmental Auditing
with Tom Zeising
Abstract: This paper investigates the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in advancing environmental justice through monitoring and enforcement efforts mandated by the Clean Air Act. Our analysis relies on a comprehensive dataset encompassing auditing information from all environmentally relevant plants between 2000 and 2018. Leveraging county-level variation in racial composition and environmental auditing, we find a substantial and persistent reduction in the proportion of inspected plants following increases in the share of non-White population. This decline coincides with a decrease in political activism, particularly among entities typically advocating for more stringent environmental protection.
Link to working paper
Divergence Between Predicted and Actual Perception of Climate Information
with Amir Tohidi, Stefano Balietti, and Samuel Fraiberger
Revise and Resubmit at PNAS Nexus
Abstract: Addressing climate change requires coordinated action and broad public support. Despite the unequivocal scientific consensus on the severe threats posed by climate change, a substantial portion of the American population remains unconvinced, resulting in inadequate climate action. Convincing climate skeptics is crucial for achieving bipartisan cooperation and unlocking political responsiveness. However, efforts to reach out to skeptics are influenced by perceptions of their responsiveness to climate communication: if little persuasion is anticipated, communication efforts are reduced. In this paper, we study both perceptions and actual responses to information about climate change. First, through a series of surveys, we elicit predictions of the persuasiveness of authentic news articles about climate change on climate change skeptics. We find that pessimistic expectations prevail, with climate advocate forecasters foreseeing no impact on skeptics’ attitudes and skeptic forecasters even predicting a backfire effect, reinforcing skepticism. Then in a preregistered survey experiment, we show that these predictions fail to capture actual effects: exposure to articles about climate change leads skeptic readers to express a significantly greater concern about climate change, although we observe heterogeneous responses on their willingness to adopt climate-friendly behavior and their support for climate policies. Altogether, these findings underscore a substantial divergence between anticipated and actual effects of climate information on skeptics, emphasizing the need to sustain investments in climate science communication.