Ashton Pallottini
Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics, University of Chicago
Phone +1 616-581-5482
Email ashtonp@uchicago.edu
LinkedIn • GitHub • Twitter
Welcome! I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at University of Chicago. I study questions in environmental economics and public economics, with my research in these fields often drawing on tools from behavioral economics. I am on the 2025-26 academic job market.
Research
Job Market Paper
Onset of Offsets: The Evolution of Social Rewards in Demand for Environmental Goods
Draft forthcoming
I estimate the evolving role of social rewards in driving consumer demand across the life cycle of environmental goods. I leverage experimental variation in price, purchase visibility, and perceived market penetrations to show that social rewards increase willingness-to-pay by 87% for carbon mitigation goods which are seen as having near-0% market penetration. This effect dissipates quickly for goods which are seen as common, dropping below 15% for perceived market penetrations of 12-50%. Consequently, I show that subsidies for carbon mitigation should be set $15 below the social cost of carbon for nascent goods, sloping upwards in market penetration as social rewards disappear. Such findings highlight that social rewards are important drivers in demand for environmental goods, particularly when markets are nascent.
Working Papers
Changing Gears: Elon Musk and the Welfare Impacts of Brand Political Activity
With Sofia Shchukina. Draft forthcoming.
We examine how a product’s associated ideology influences consumption. Using Texas vehicle registration data, we structurally estimate demand and show that Tesla's brand value fell by $14,000 among Democrats and $10,000 among moderates from 2021Q1 through 2025Q1. Most of this decline is attributable to Elon Musk’s 2022 Twitter purchase and 2024 presidential election involvement. Following Musk's 2024 political involvement, we estimate that Tesla revenues decreased by $148 million per year in Texas, with a majority of consumers substituting to gas vehicles. Consequently, damages from Texan carbon emissions increased by $572 million per year, while Texan consumers lost $4 million of consumer surplus per year. Our findings highlight the welfare impacts of increasingly polarized consumption.
Urban Expansion, Drought Risk, and Willingness-to-pay for Piped Water
With Jun Wong and Emma Zhang. Draft forthcoming.
We examine the impacts of rising groundwater drought risk on urban willingness-to-pay (WTP) for piped water in Bangalore, India. We estimate hedonic valuations for being near the piped water network before and after the city's worst drought in over 50 years – an event which was unanticipated. Following the drought, residents' WTP to be 0.1km closer to the pipe network permanently increased by 0.4% of monthly rents. Consequently, we show that new construction projects have increased by 25-51% in areas which are near the piped water network. Using a structural model of housing demand, we estimate the extent to which housing market adjustments recover welfare gains compared to pipe expansions. Our findings highlight the role of groundwater quality in influencing urban expansion and the role of markets in adapting to climate damages.
Selected Works in Progress
Informal Labor and Scalable Waste Management Solutions: Evidence from Delhi
With Jun Wong and Emma Zhang. Grant secured. EPIC India coverage here.
Rubbish Economics: The Joint Roles of Community and Institutions in Driving Pollution in Developing Economies
With Jun Wong and Emma Zhang. Piloting grant secured.
EV or not EV: How Information Frictions Drive Electric Vehicle Demand
With Sofia Shchukina. Full scale complete. Data processing in progress.
Paper or Plastic: Impacts to Consumers from Eco-labeling
Third year paper. Pilot complete. Manuscript available upon request.
Pollution as a Status Good: How Stigma Influences Demand for Living in Polluted Areas
Piloting stage. Slides available upon request.
Teaching
University of Chicago
ECON 11600: Experimental Design (Undergraduate)
Winter 2024: Teaching Assistant reporting to Fulya Ersoy
ECON 21020: Econometrics (Undergraduate)
Spring 2023: Teaching Assistant reporting to Murilo Ramos
ECON 41120: Topics in Behavioral Economics (Ph.D.)
Winter 2023: Teaching Assistant reporting to Leonardo Bursztyn
ECON 20010: Elements of Economic Analysis I Honors (Undergraduate)
Fall 2022: Teaching Assistant reporting to Victor Lima
BUSN 33801: Microeconomics (EMBA)
Fall 2022 and Fall 2023: Teaching Assistant reporting to Lars Stole
Michigan State University
STT 200: Statistical Methods (Undergraduate)
Summer 2020: Fixed Term Instructor reporting to Camille Fairbourn
Fall 2019 - Spring 2020: Teaching Assistant reporting to Harish Sankaranarayanan
Personal
Reading
I am a dedicated fantasy novel reader. Want to know how I think different fantasy books stack up? Check out my Goodreads here!