Research

Working Papers

The Local Environmental and Welfare Effects of Large Industrial Shutdowns

Abstract

This paper investigates the local environmental and socioeconomic consequences of large industrial facility shutdowns using detailed neighborhood-level data from Germany. Exploiting quasi-random variation in shutdown timing, I find that plant closures induce significant improvements in local air quality in downwind neighborhoods, particularly benefiting low-income neighborhoods. Despite these improvements in air quality, housing prices decline by approximately 2.5% in response to plant closures — an effect likely driven by adverse local labor market shocks. These adverse effects include reductions in average neighborhood income and increases in unemployment in heavily industrialized areas. Using a simple location choice framework, I further demonstrate that, at the very local level, the socioeconomic costs of facility shutdowns can outweigh environmental gains, highlighting the importance of targeted place-based policies

  • Conference & Seminar Presentations: Inequality and the Environment Symposium (Sciences Po Paris), Harvard Graduate Student Workshop in Environmental Economics (Harvard Kennedy School), Parisian PhD Seminar on Environmental Economics (CIRED, Paris), Applied Economics Lunch Seminar (Paris School of Economics), ENS Lyon Junior Workshop, FSR Annual Climate Conference (EUI, Florence), 2025 AUROE Workshop (ZEW Mannheim), 18th RGS Doctoral Conference (TU Dortmund), EAERE Annual Conference 2025 (NHH Bergen), 2025 EEA Meeting (Bordeaux School of Economics)

Global Income Inequality by 2050: Convergence, Redistribution, and Climate Change (with L. Chancel, A. Gethin and C. Mohren)

Abstract

This article investigates how national income convergence, government redistribution, and climate change will shape the global distribution of income until 2050. Despite ongoing convergence in national income, the global bottom 50% post-tax income share only marginally rises from 10% to 12% under “business-as-usual”, while the top 1% share remains constant. Yet, modest national-level redistribution policies can raise the global bottom 50% share to up to 19%. Policies involving redistribution of pre-tax income are particularly effective in reducing global inequality. Climate change is set to exacerbate inequalities, potentially offsetting all convergence effects since 1980.

Published Work

Peer-reviewed

Climate change and the global distribution of wealth (with L. Chancel, C. Mohren and G. Semienuk) Nature Climate Change (2025)

Policy Work

Climate Inequality Report 2023: Fair taxes for a sustainable future in the global south (with L. Chancel and T. Voituriez)

The potential of wealth taxation to address the triple climate inequality crisis (with L. Chancel and T. Voituriez) Nature Climate Change 14, 5–7 (2024).