What happens when you assign ~25,000 firms to get complaints about pollution violations the day after they commit them for several months? Major reductions in emissions. Final version out at the AER today with a fantastic set of collaborators: https://t.co/Qn9UYqyJo8

Excited to announce a new funding opportunity for research on "what works" in climate adaptation. We are specifically looking for strong causal designs that tell us what interventions work (or don't) to reduce impacts of a changing climate. Link in next post. Plz share!

In China, increased government transparency improved firms’ compliance with environmental regulations. Read the full article w/ Mengdi Liu, @MarkBuntaine, @Prof_SEAnderson & @nju_zhangbing: https://t.co/no2W5IsTfB

A big thanks to my collaborators Mengdi Liu, @Prof_SEAnderson, and @nju_zhangbing for the now decade+ of work on this project.

I think this is a cool paper because it is hard to study transparency. Governments become more transparent when they perform well, making cause and effect difficult to disentangle. Long-term follow-up of randomly boosted transparency clarifies how transparency changes governance.

The paper contains other results showing which types of firms were most likely to adjust. We also show an increase in inspections by governments assigned to the treatment, suggesting that governments respond to the threat of scrutiny.

Next, we show that randomly encouraging transparency also results in fewer violations of pollution standards by firms in treated cities, relative to similar firms in control cities. The effects are strongest for the biggest polluters.

Our new paper follows the consequences of that effort over the next five years for a variety of environmental outcomes. We find reductions in ambient air pollution in treated cities, which are robust to using data from satellites.

The study started by selecting 50 cities that had not previously been rated by a national scorecard -- the Pollution Information Transparency Index -- and beginning to monitor them. We assigned half of the cities to the release of their scores in a national media campaign.

This is a follow-up paper to our previous @AJPS_Editor article, which found that randomly rating cities on their compliance with transparency rules increased the amount of information local governments released about pollution. https://t.co/eyKEneBIHs

After >10 years of effort, our paper on the longer-term effects of governmental transparency for pollution control in China is out at @PNASNews Randomly encouraging transparency among local governments reduced pollution and saved thousands of lives https://t.co/BF37vatpcG

We are hiring a postdoc in climate politics. The postdoc would be working with me and others on a global effort to collect high-frequency data on adaptation to climate events. Apply or reach out with any questions! https://t.co/vIdk9R3epl

🚨 Just published in @Nature w @gemmadipoppa 🚨 We argue that reducing crop burning in South Asia, responsible for toxic air for 100s of millions, is not completely intractable. We show bureaucrats exert control when incentivized, w large consequences for pub health Details 👇

☀️New Postdoc Opportunity!☀️Madalina Vlasceanu and I are looking for a postdoc to come join us at the Environmental Social Sciences Department at Stanford’s School of Sustainability. See link below for more information and to apply. Deadline is Nov. 1! https://t.co/QB3H2zfLfu

This project came about from discussions during my sabbatical stay at @istp_eth. What a great group to sit with for a few months!

Paper out today w/ @a_free_heart & @bernauereth: https://t.co/vVkq3HirbH Experiments in the US and Germany show that the public prefers to protect communities from climate-related risks, rather than support relocation policies, casting doubt on the political case for retreat.

🚨Thrilled to say we're doing a lot of hiring at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Political Science this year! The first two lines have already posted: American Politics (Asst or Assoc) and Environmental Politics (Asst, Open Field). Links below!

Looking for two postdocs for a project on Interlinked Water Insecurity. Poverty, and Health in Malawi. 1) WASH, Poverty and Health https://t.co/I1crBRI5rm) and 2) Water Quality Microbiology https://t.co/R3WMyGZsNP Please share widely with potential candidates @HWISE_RCN

What happens 2+ years after we partnered with local leaders in @nansanamc to organize social competitions to reduce waste burning? Recent interviews reveal sustained momentum in responsible waste disposal. Many thanks to @AirQoProject for the coverage: https://t.co/TlzloYNVg5

Excited for this project. We're asking different individuals to map local rules for land use to measure coordination within communities. Big effort launching next month.

In gorgeous Peru this week for a new project mapping local institutions for land management. Done lots of things but never been a passenger in a truck crossing a large river! Expert driver.