About me
I am a behavioral economist working on environmental and development topics. My research examines how social influences and economic incentives shape decision-making, addressing critical issues such as natural resource depletion, climate change, poverty, and resilience. By integrating insights from behavioral economics with environmental and development issues, I analyze the roles of social norms, social capital, and pro-environmental behaviors in advancing sustainable development.
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Tilburg School of Economics and Management. E-mail: j.d.lopezrivas@tilburguniversity.com
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Education
Ph.D. in Economics (2020), Los Andes University
M.Sc. in Economics (2018), Los Andes University
M.Sc. in Economics (2013). Pontifical Xaverian University
B.Sc. Environmental Studies (2007) Technological University of Pereira
Previous Affiliations
2020-2023. Postdoctoral Researcher. Social Sciences Department. Wageningen University & Research. Wageningen, Netherlands.
2018-2020. Adjunct Researcher. Center for Development Studies (CEDE), Los Andes University. Bogotá, Colombia.
2014-2020 Ph.D. at the School of Economics at Los Andes University.
2018. Visiting researcher. School of sustainability. Arizona State University-ASU. Tempe (AZ)
2007-2014. Associate consultant. Water and Sanitation Research Group (GIAS). Technological University of Pereira, Colombia.
Wensing, J., Polman, D., Lopez-Rivas, JD., Cremades, R., and van Leeuwen, E. (2024). Green meal? The role of situational cues and normative goals for real-time vegetarian meal choices. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.10240
Lopez-Rivas, J. D., & Cárdenas, J.-C. (2024). What is the economic value of coastal and marine ecosystem services? A systematic literature review. Marine Policy, 161, 106033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106033
Lopez-Rivas, J. D. Spreading the Word! Spillover Effects of a Randomized Normative Informational Campaign on Residential Water Conservation. Last round of comments in the Journal of Resource and Energy Economics (August 2024). Working paper here.
Publications
Work in Progress
Carbon banking for small farmers in low-income countries.
We assess the impact of emerging carbon credit markets on livelihoods, farm management, and environmental outcomes for coffee farmers in Tanzania. Smallholders receive payments for the carbon fixed by trees in their plots, credits that are auctioned for companies to offset their impact. To do so, we evaluate an ongoing pilot using quasi-experimental techniques to measure short-term effects and design and evaluate a randomized control study conducted to study long-term effects. With Erwin Bulte and Gerald Lesseri.
The effect of information transfer on food waste management in tourism firms: evidence from a field experiment
We design, implement, and evaluate the impacts of adopting management innovations on small and medium-sized restaurants to reduce food waste generation in Cusco (Peru). With Cesar del Pozo and Francisco Alpizar.
FoodLoop Lab
Joint with Joana Wensing, Daniel Polman, and Stephanie Begemann, we work on interdisciplinary research ideas about the transition toward sustainable and circular food systems from different value chain links. Current project:
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Citizens' support for policy bundles in the transition to circular food systems. Using choice experiments to determine the willingness to support complex set policies instead of simple options.
