Welcome to my page! I am a Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR). My main field of interest is empirical environmental economics. I conduct research on the effect of air pollution and other environmental factors on human-related outcomes. Further, I analyze the effectiveness as well as costs and benefits of environmental policies. I grew up in Switzerland and currently live in Massachusetts.

We study the private adoption and diffusion of a technology that provides a local public good – PurpleAir (PA) pollution monitors. From a purely informational perspective, the ideal spacing of these monitors should reflect the degree of spatial correlation in pollution. In stark contrast, we find that monitor adoption is spatially highly clustered in less polluted areas, suggesting the marginal monitor adopted provides minimal additional public information. Moreover, monitor adoption mainly occurs in affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods, underscoring the potential environmental justice concerns associated with the private provision of this public good.

With rising average temperatures and extreme heat events becoming more frequent, understanding the ramifications for cognitive performance is essential. I estimate the effect of outside air temperature on performance in mental arithmetic training games. Using data from 31,000 individuals and 1.15 million games played, I analyze frequent engagement in a cognitively challenging task in a non-stressful and familiar environment. I find that, above a threshold of 16.5°C, a 1°C increase in outside air temperature leads to a performance reduction of 0.13%. The effect is mostly driven by individuals living in relatively cold areas, who are less adapted to hot temperatures.