I’m pleased to share a new paper, co-authored with Diego Ambasz and Anshuman Gupta, A review of human development and environmental outcomes. Although there is now substantial research on how climate and environmental conditions affect human development, much less is known about the reverse channel: can education itself help mitigate climate change and improve environmental outcomes? To examine this question, we reviewed studies linking schooling to environmental attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes and organized them using a simple conceptual framework and an emphasis on causal identification.
The empirical literature shows that most existing studies are observational and document positive associations between education and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. However, only a small share of studies (5 out of 31) deploy quasi-experimental methods to identify a causal effect of schooling on climate-related outcomes. The results from this causal work are nuanced: education clearly shifts beliefs and attitudes in a pro-climate direction, yet consistent effects on concrete behaviors (such as energy conservation, environmental tax compliance, or household consumption choices) are harder to detect. To help interpret these findings, we propose a conceptual framework with three pathways through which education may influence environmental outcomes: cognitive (improved reasoning and climate literacy), affective (values, norms, and concern), and situational (income and resource access). This framework helps explain why attitude changes are common, while behavioral changes are smaller, context-dependent, and contingent on material and policy constraints.
The most promising identification strategy in this literature uses compulsory schooling laws as natural experiments. Evidence from Europe shows that addressing climate change requires individual behavior change and voter support for proclimate policies. By estimating the causal effects of additional education on pro-climate outcomes using new compulsory schooling law data across 20 European countries Angrist et al find that: a year of education substantially increases pro-climate beliefs, behaviors, and policy preferences.
The policy implication is clear: education is a meaningful climate lever, but not a magic bullet—changing attitudes is easier than changing actions, and behavior change requires complementary incentives, infrastructure, and policy. The climate conversation is often framed around technologies, taxes, and treaties; our review suggests that human capital — and specifically schooling — belongs in that conversation as well.
Full paper (open access):
http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2025/Volume45/EB-25-V45-I4-P148.pdf
Co-authors:
Diego Ambasz (World Bank); Anshuman Gupta (World Bank); Harry A. Patrinos (University of Arkansas)
Education, economics and public policy 