student headshot

PhD Student

Research Areas
Climate Change Information; Voluntary Climate Action; Emotional Well-being

Education
BS, Applied and Resource Economics, University of Connecticut

Bio

Risa is a PhD candidate in the Economics and Environmental Science (EES) Emphasis. She is interested in the intersection of behavioral economics and environmental economics, with her current work focusing on the welfare impacts of information about climate change and the environment. In particular, she uses information provision in order to understand novel motivations for voluntary climate action.  Furthermore, in order to improve cost-benefit analysis of information provision policy, her research includes the monetary estimation of the emotional well-being impact of engaging with climate change media.
 
Prior to coming to the Bren School, Risa graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Applied and Resource Economics, where she worked with Project Drawdown to study the value of information about implementation of on-farm anaerobic digesters when provided by ombudsmen.

Year Admitted
2020

Faculty Advisor
Christopher Costello