Policy Insights in Environment, Energy, and Climate Change

J-PAL’s Environment, Energy, and Climate Change Sector focuses on energy access, pollution reduction, and climate change. Our policy insight below summarizes emerging lessons from randomized evaluations on the impact of social comparisons on home energy and water consumption.
Michael Greenstone (University of Chicago) and Kelsey Jack (University of California, Berkeley), Environment, Energy, and Climate Change Co-Chairs
fishermen on small boats
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View: Policy insights by sector

Expanding household electricity access

Last updated: décembre 2024
Access to electricity is a critical ingredient in improving human well-being and raising living standards, but the existing evidence suggests that it is just one component of poverty reduction rather than a complete solution on its own.

Building farmers' resilience to climate change

Last updated: septembre 2024
In the face of weather shocks, improved agricultural technologies and techniques, financial services, and social assistance programs can improve the resilience of small-scale farmers. These tools can help farmers prevent crop losses, avoid consumption cuts or sales of productive assets, or even...

Biomass cookstoves to reduce indoor air pollution and fuel use

Last updated: octobre 2020
Despite their positive results in the lab, biomass cookstoves designed to reduce smoke exposure and/or increase fuel efficiency did not substantially improve health in several randomized evaluations in the real world. Many people did not want to buy or maintain them, did not use them enough, and...

Encouraging residential energy efficiency

Last updated: novembre 2019
Programs that encouraged investments in residential energy efficiency had limited returns in several impact evaluations in real-world settings. Relatively small impacts on energy savings coupled with low take-up meant that encouraging these investments through information campaigns and subsidies was...

Campagnes d’information et de comparaisons sociales pour réduire la consommation d’énergie et d’eau

Last updated: avril 2018
Dans de nombreux contextes, des interventions consistant à informer les individus de leur consommation d’énergie ou d’eau par rapport à celle de leurs voisins et à leur donner des conseils pour faire des économies d’eau ou d’énergie ont systématiquement permis de réduire modérément la consommation.

Sector Chairs

Co-chair/chaire, Environnement & Énergie

Milton Friedman Professor of Economics

University of Chicago

Kelsey Jack

Co-chair/chaire, Environnement & Énergie

Member, Executive Committee

Associate Professor

University of California, Berkeley

Sector Contacts

Headshot of Sarah DiCiccio

Digital Communications Manager, J-PAL Global

Headshot of Jack Ellington

Senior Policy Associate, J-PAL Global

Headshot of Gabrielle Robertson

Senior Policy Associate, J-PAL Global

Headshot of Andre Zollinger

Senior Policy Manager, J-PAL Global