I presented this work at the SustainableED 2026 Conference at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University on May 1, 2026, where I spoke on A Review of Human Development and Environmental Outcomes (slides attached).
This question—whether education can influence climate outcomes—has long been assumed, but rarely tested with credible causal evidence.
In a recent paper published in The Review of Economics and Statistics, with Noam Angrist, Kevin Winseck, and Joshua Graff Zivin, we examine this question directly. Using variation from compulsory schooling reforms across 20 European countries, we identify the causal impact of additional schooling on a range of pro-climate outcomes.
The results are clear:
- An additional year of schooling increases pro-climate beliefs
- It leads to more environmentally responsible behaviors
- It strengthens support for climate policies
- It increases the likelihood of voting for green parties
Climate change is not only a technological or regulatory challenge—it is also behavioral and political. Meaningful progress depends on informed citizens, public support for policy, and sustained civic engagement. Education appears to influence all three.
From a human capital perspective, this expands the concept of returns to schooling. Education does not only raise earnings or productivity—it shapes preferences, information processing, and participation in collective decision-making. These are central to addressing global public goods such as climate change.
The policy implication is straightforward: investments in education can complement traditional climate policies by strengthening the societal foundations for long-run action.
Read the paper: https://direct.mit.edu/rest/article-abstract/doi/10.1162/rest_a_01444/120189/Human-Capital-and-Climate-Change?redirectedFrom=fulltext
In a new review with Diego Ambasz and Anshuman Gupta, we step back and assess the full body of evidence linking human development—especially schooling—to environmental outcomes.
The headline finding is stark. Of 31 studies:
- 27 are observational
- Only 4 use quasi-experimental methods to identify causal effects
That imbalance matters. Much of the existing evidence is correlational, not causal.
Substantively, the literature reveals a consistent but incomplete pattern:
- Education is strongly associated with pro-climate attitudes
- Translating those attitudes into actual behavioral change is much more difficult
This gap—between beliefs and action—is central to climate policy.
To organize the evidence, we propose a simple framework:
- Cognitive channels (knowledge, information)
- Affective channels (values, preferences)
- Situational constraints (income, context, incentives)
Education clearly operates through the first two. But behavior is often constrained by the third. While the limited causal evidence suggests schooling can influence behavior, the mechanisms remain underdeveloped and insufficiently tested.
This leads to a more cautious conclusion:
If education is to play a meaningful role in climate mitigation and adaptation, both research and policy must move beyond correlations and focus on causal pathways and real behavioral outcomes.
Read the review: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2025/Volume45/EB-25-V45-I4-P148.pdf
Education, economics and public policy 