Bateman, I. J., Binner, A., Addicott, E. T., Balmford, B., Cho, F. H. T., Daily, G. C., De-Gol, A., Eisenbarth, S., Faccioli, M., Ferguson-Gow, H., Ferrini, S., Fezzi, C., Gannon, K., Groom, B., Harper, A. B., Harwood, A., Hillier, J., Hulme, M. F., Lee, C. F., . . . Day, B. H. (2024). How to make land use policy decisions: Integrating science and economics to deliver connected climate, biodiversity, and food objectives. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(49), Article e2407961121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2407961121
Bateman, I. J., Anderson, K., Argles, A., Belcher, C., Betts, R. A., Binner, A., Brazier, R. E., Cho, F. H. T., Collins, R. M., Day, B. H., Duran-Rojas, C., Eisenbarth, S., Gannon, K., Gatis, N., Groom, B., Hails, R., Harper, A. B., Harwood, A., Hastings, A., . . . Xenakis, G. (2023). A review of planting principles to identify the right place for the right tree for ‘net zero plus’ woodlands: Applying a place-based natural capital framework for sustainable, efficient and equitable (SEE) decisions. People and Nature, 5(2), 271–301. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10331
Eisenbarth, S. (2022). Do exports of renewable resources lead to resource depletion? Evidence from fisheries. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 112, Article 102603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2021.102603 [Replication data]
Eisenbarth, S., Graham, L., & Rigterink, A. S. (2021). Can community monitoring save the commons? Evidence on forest use and displacement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(29), Article e2015172118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2015172118[Pre-analysis plan] [Replication data]
Slough, T., Rubenson, D., Levy, R., Rodriguez, F. A., Bernedo del Carpio, M., Buntaine, M., Christensen, D., Cooperman, A., Eisenbarth, S., Ferraro, P., Graham, L., Hartman, A., Kopas, J., McLarty, S., Rigterink, A., Samii, C., Seim, B., Urpelainen, J., & Zhang, B. (2021). Adoption of community monitoring improves common pool resource management across contexts. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(29), Article e2015367118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2015367118 [Pre-analysis plan] [Replication data]
Costello, C., Millage, K., Eisenbarth, S., Galarza, E., Ishimura, G., Rubino, L. L., Saccomanno, V., Sumaila, U. R., & Strauss, K. (2021). Ambitious subsidy reform by the WTO presents opportunities for ocean health restoration. Sustainability Science, 16(4), 1391–1396. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00865-z
Eisenbarth, S. (2017). Is Chinese trade policy motivated by environmental concerns? Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 82, 74–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2016.10.001
Working Papers
Carbon leakage from land-based climate change mitigation measures,with Alla Golub, Uris Baldos, and Brett Day Afforestation and the transition to renewable energy are crucial in supporting countries' efforts towards net-zero emissions. We use a spatially explicit environment-economy model for the UK to analyze how the UK could achieve net-zero-compatible afforestation and renewable energy targets at minimum social cost. Our preliminary results suggest that expanding forests, bioenergy crops, wind, and solar farms would replace both arable and pastureland, reducing UK agricultural output. We link the UK model to a general equilibrium model of international trade and show that UK land-use change triggers agricultural expansion abroad. Deforestation outside the UK is roughly one-third of the area dedicated to climate change mitigation in the UK. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions outside the UK is substantial and seriously undermines UK carbon sequestration efforts.
Accounting for carbon additionality in the presence of deforestation and regrowth with Ville Inkinen, Ben Balmford, Sarah Meier, Zdenek Plesek, Lykke Andersen, Fabiana Argandona, Charles Palmer, Lorenzo Sileci, Diana Weinhold, and Ben Groom This study develops a methodological framework that integrates high-resolution remote sensing data with machine learning techniques to predict the potential additionality of forest conservation and reforestation interventions in South America. By modeling forest cover dynamics explicitly, we generate annual future predictions of deforestation and regrowth probabilities. These probabilities are then converted into expected pathways of carbon storage and their corresponding net present values. Our approach enables a direct comparison between expected outcomes under business-as-usual scenarios and those enhanced by conservation interventions, providing a clear measure of additionality. This measure informs where different types of interventions—such as protected areas, reforestation, or REDD+ projects—should be targeted to maximise their additional benefit. Our method provides a powerful tool for governments, NGOs, and private stakeholders to optimize their forest conservation strategies, ensuring that limited resources are directed where they can achieve the greatest environmental and financial impact. Impacts of Community-Level Conservation Incentives Across Diverse Institutional Landscapeswith Miguel Fonseca and Alex Pfaff, revise and resubmit at Environmental and Resource Economics [Pre-analysis plan] Conservation incentives often target communities with diverse institutions and capacities for cooperation. We implement an online experiment (N = 1,010) using a modified public-goods game to examine how pre-existing institutions influence the impact of incentives. To reflect resource monitoring costs, we limit individuals’ information about peer contributions and thus their ability to raise cooperation through peer punishment. Our 2 x 2 design staggers two treatments. First, a forum in which costly voluntary participation reveals participants' information about contributions. Second, temporary community payments that reward ''additional'' contributions above the group’s pre-payment baseline. Our findings show that average contributions rise by 18\% with a forum and 11\% with payments. Access to the forum does not significantly raise the effectiveness of payments. Crucially, when the temporary payments end, contributions do not fall below the pre-intervention baseline. For groups with high initial cooperation, contributions remain significantly above their original baseline even after incentives are removed — a form of ''crowding in''.
Does trade foster resource management? Evidence on fishing quotas Does international trade change a regulator's ability or incentive to manage a renewable resource sustainably? Theoretical predictions are ambiguous, and this is the first empirical analysis to shed light on the effect of trade on resource management. I use detailed country-species-level fisheries data to investigate whether trade facilitates the introduction of quota and Territorial Use Rights for Fishing (TURF) programs. The empirical evidence suggests a negative relationship between the resource price and the introduction of quota and TURF programs. The values of landings and exports are positively correlated with the introduction of fisheries management.