Essays in Environmental and Public Economics

On Tuesday 12 August Costanza Maria Ludovica Cincotta will hold a trial lecture on a prescribed topic and defend her thesis for the PhD degree at NHH.

This thesis examines how government policies shape the economic behavior of firms and consumers.

It is structured in two parts: The first examines the impact of subsidies on firms in the United States, while the second focuses on electric vehicle (EV) policy in Norway.

The first essay analyzes green subsidies from 2000 to 2021, revealing a nuanced impact on environmental performance. While total emissions and waste increase, their intensity - relative to output declines - suggesting greater efficiency. Subsidized firms also show stronger compliance with environmental regulations, produce more—and higher-value—green patents, and receive less negative media coverage for environmental incidents.

A second essay, co-authored by Elisa Casi and Allison Koester, explores the competitive externalities of economic development subsidies. The analysis finds that such subsidies enable recipient firms to compete more effectively, which reduces market share and weakens the financial performance of non-subsidized firms in the same markets.

The second part of the thesis turns to Norway’s electric vehicle policy. A study co-authored with Øyvind Thomassen examines a wide array of incentives implemented between 2000 and 2021, including tax exemptions, fossil fuel taxes, and perks such as free parking and bus-lane access. The purchase tax exemption emerges as the most important driver of EV adoption. The study also highlights policy trade-offs: EVs reduce tailpipe emissions but increase vehicle weight, potentially leading to more particulate pollution. Overall, we find that Norway’s EV policy yields a net social surplus.

The final study, co-authored with Øyvind Thomassen, examines how political preferences shape EV adoption. Using survey data from 23,000 Norwegian households (2020–2022), we find that individuals with liberal values are significantly more likely to own an EV than those with nationalist views. Economically right-leaning individuals are also more likely to adopt EVs than their left-leaning counterparts. Hence, expanding EV adoption may require not only government action but also automakers’ efforts to tailor messaging and design for skeptical consumers.