Ireri Hernandez Carballo

I study how the energy and climate transitions shape socioeconomic outcomes and preferences, focusing on three interconnected streams: environmental health, the economic and labor impacts of decarbonization, and the political economy of climate and energy policies. My recent work examines how energy prices and economic security influence sustainability goals and public preferences. Additionally, I study how environmental policies impact economic and labor outcomes as well as attitudes toward the energy transition. I address these topics empirically using advanced quasi-experimental methods, survey experiments, and large geocoded datasets. 

JOB MARKET PAPER

Do increases in energy prices impact individuals' attitudes towards the energy transition? Global energy markets are highly interconnected, making them a source of globalization that can impact public policy preferences. Shifts in energy prices due to global supply shocks or other crises impact household energy expenditures, cost of living, income, and inequality. A key question is how individuals will react to shifts in energy prices: will this affect environmental concern, public support of climate and energy policies, or other political attitudes? Which regions and social groups are more likely to be affected and respond more? I study changes in attitudes in the time frame of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led to a drastic increase in energy prices. I combine energy price data with geographical variation in energy use in an instrumental variables framework to study individual-level  changes in public attitudes to answer this question. The focus is on the EU, which in 2020 imported 57% of the energy it consumed, 24.4% coming from Russia. I find that higher energy prices significantly increase concern about energy supply but have only a modest negative impact on environmental concern, suggesting that worry about climate change is not crowded out. Instead, rising prices led individuals to strengthen their support for investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and efforts to reduce reliance on oil and Russian energy sources. These results highlight that energy shocks, while costly, may also create political space for accelerating the clean energy transition.

PUBLICATIONS

• Hernandez Carballo, I., & Sisco, M.R. (2024). Examining the effects of gasoline prices on public support for climate policies. Nature Energy.
• Hernandez Carballo, I., Bakola, M., and Stuckler, D. (2022). The impact of air pollution on COVID-19 incidence, severity, and mortality: A systematic review of studies in Europe and North America. Environmental Research.
• Bakola, M., Hernandez Carballo, I., Jelastopulu, E., and Stuckler, D. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on air pollution in Europe and North America: a systematic review. European Journal of Public Health.

WORKING PAPERS

• Hernandez Carballo, I., Verdolini, E., Steckel, J., Tavoni, M., Vona, F.,  – The economics of a Just Transition. Provisionally accepted at the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy.
• Hernandez Carballo, I., – Energy costs and the political economy of the energy transition: Evidence from natural gas and electricity prices in the EU.
• Hernandez Carballo, I., Mallarino, G.M., Percoco, M., – The impact of green policies on local economic performance: Evidence from the EU ETS.
• Hernandez Carballo, I., Soler Lopez, J. – Naturalization and voting behavior as a response to discrimination. Evidence from immigrants in the U.S.