Research

Working Papers

1. Flooded House or Underwater Mortgage? The Macrofinancial Implications of Climate Change and Adaptation (Job Market Paper)

Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper TI 2023-014/IV, (available on SSRN). Recently revised! 

Finalist, Young Economist Prize, European Central Bank (2024),

Best Student Paper Award, CEPR European Conference on Household Finance (2023),

Best Single-Authored Paper Award, European Sustainable Finance PhD Workshop (2023).

Abstract: I study the macrofinancial implications of climate change and private adaptation. Households are exposed to extreme weather events, which damage housing and degrade land which is in inelastic supply. While the exposure to climate risk weakens demand for housing, I show that the materialization of climate change raises house prices, as habitat becomes increasingly scarcer. This leads to a reallocation of credit in the economy towards households. In frictionless markets, price signals lead to efficient adaptation. However, credit-constrained households have weaker incentives to adapt to climate change, indicating that pricing alone may be insufficient. Unequal adaptation reinforces wealth inequality and leads to a further reduction in future habitat. Since this increases the importance of housing relative to future consumption, the private adaptation gap widens over time. I show that a societal shift from constrained homeownership to a rental model with unconstrained owners could lead to more efficient adaptation.

Conferences: ECB Forum on Central Banking 2024 in Sintra (Young Economist Competition); 13th MoFiR Workshop on Banking (short presentation); 1st CEPR-ESSEC-Luxembourgh Conference on Sustainable Financial Intermediation (short presentation); NY Fed & NYU Fed Summer Climate Finance Conference (poster session); CEPR European Conference on Household Finance 2023; 9th IWH-Fin-Fire Workshop on Challenges to Financial Stability; 1st Norges Bank Research Workshop Woman in Central Banking; 8th HEC Paris Finance PhD Workshop; IPWSD 2023 at Columbia University in the City of New York; 1st European Sustainable Finance PhD Workshop; AEA-ASSA Annual Conference 2025 (poster session);  2nd CEPR Paris Symposium (poster session); Conference of the French Finance Association (PhD workshop); 12th Portuguese Finance Network Conference; Dutch Economist Day 2022. 

Seminars:  Massachusetts Institute of Technology  (Sustainable Urbanization Lab); Imperial College Business School (Formal PhD Seminar);  University of Mannheim; De Nederlandsche Bank (Research Division; Economic Policy Division); University van Amsterdam (Finance Department; Macro and International Economics Department; Seminars on Environmental Economics and Management of Sustainability).

Media coverage: VoxTalks Economics 

2. Funding the Fittest? Pricing Climate Transition Risk in the Corporate Bond Market 

with M.A. Boermans & M.J.G. Bun. 

De Nederlandsche Bank Working Paper No. 797 (available on SSRN). Revised: August, 2024.

Abstract: We study whether climate transition risk is priced in corporate bond markets and if investors value companies’ green innovation efforts. Using confidential bond-level holdings data and global firm-level data on carbon emissions and green innovation, we find a positive transition risk premium. This premium is smaller for emission-intensive firms that engage in green innovation, suggesting that investors value companies’ efforts to mitigate climate change. We show that European investors, in particular institutional investors, have a higher demand for bonds from emission-intensive firms that engage in green innovation and thus influence yield spreads related to climate transition risk.

Conferences:  7th Annual GRASFI Conference, International Conference in Finance, Accounting and Banking 2024*; RCEA International Conference in Economics, Econometrics, and Finance 2024*; IAAE 2024 Annual Conference*; 29th International Panel Data Conference*; Dutch Economist Day 2024.

Seminars: Tilburg University;  Imperial College Business School  (Informal PhD Seminar); ESCB  Research Cluster Climate Change*;  University of Utrecht (School of Economics)*; De Nederlandsche Bank (Research Division);  Robeco Asset Management; University van Amsterdam (Finance Department).

Policy notes:  De Nederlandsche Bank  ·  SUERF   ·  E-Axes Forum.

Media coverage: Bloomberg. 

3. Political Economy of Climate Change Adaptation

with E.C. Perotti & F. Van der Ploeg. 

CEPR Discussion Paper DP18959, CESifo Working Paper No. 10961, Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper TI 2024-013/IV,  (available on SSRN). Revised: May, 2024.

Abstract: We study the evolution of voter support for public adaptation when political preferences are shaped by rising climate risk and economic inequality. Political support for tax-funded intervention to preserve habitable land evolves over time when households differ in age, income and beliefs. Support for public adaptation is initially low, rising as climate risk increases. We show that the political equilibrium experiences a tipping point in response to habitat loss if beliefs are not too dispersed, leading to a shift towards a more active adaptation policy. A steady rise in inequality may induce a second tipping point, but the policy impact depends on the balance between the gap in income and beliefs. Overall, public intervention is undermined by a "tragedy of the horizon" effect as cohorts internalize only partially its long-term benefits for future generations. This prevents public adaptation from converging to the social optimum even when political support is highest. 

Conferences:  EJPE-CEPR-Bocconi Political Economy Conference 2024; 2nd CEPR Paris Symposium; Vienna Workshop on The Political Economy of the Environment; SURED Conference on Sustainable Resource Use and Economic Dynamics  2024; 1st Dutch Environmental and Resource Economics Day.

Seminars: University van Amsterdam (Seminars on Environmental Economics and Management of Sustainability).

Policy notes: VoxEU.

4. Home Improvements, Wealth Inequality and the Energy-Efficiency Paradox

with M.Droës.

Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper TI 2024-026/IV,  (available on SSRN).

Abstract: We explore the rate at which households go green and its effects on the distribution of wealth. Using unique Dutch data, we find that lower-income households are less likely to improve energy-efficiency. At the same time, higher-income households often sort in more energy-efficient homes. Energy savings amount to 17% of median net wealth, with sorting explaining 65% of this effect. Policies encouraging lower-income households to live in energy-efficient homes reduce wealth inequality but miss 83% of potential CO2 benefits, as higher-income households are more brown. Thus, our analysis highlights a policy trade-off between reducing energy expenditures and effectively reducing CO2 emissions. 

Presentations: AREUEA-ASSA Annual Conference 2025; AREUEA International Conference 2024; 30th ERES Annual Conference*;  Royal Dutch Economic Association (KVS) New Paper Session 2024.

Seminars: Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK); Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK)*; De Nederlandsche Bank (Economic Policy Division); ABN AMRO Bank (Economic Research Group); University van Amsterdam (Finance Department).