@misc{HoffmannStephan, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Stephan, Gunter}, title = {Regional Flood Impacts and Adaptation in a Federal Setting: A spatial computable general equilibrium analysis for Switzerland}, series = {Climate Change Economics}, volume = {9}, journal = {Climate Change Economics}, number = {2}, issn = {2010-0078}, pages = {36}, abstract = {Climate change, a growing population and inappropriate land use may lead to a significant increase in the frequency, intensity and the duration of water-related extreme events. We aim (1) to gain a better understanding of the direct and indirect economic impacts of floods, (2) to analyze the issue of efficient flood adaption as well as the issue of financing adaptation in a federalist system, where local and national governmental authorities interplay in the provision of local public good adaptation. Our numerical thought experiments are based on a dynamic, spatial differentiated Ramsey type Computable General Equilibrium Model. Regions are determined by exposure and vulnerability to floods and are not identical with territorial units. Our results indicate: (1) general equilibrium effects caused by flood damages in vulnerable regions lead in regions of low vulnerability also to considerable welfare and GDP losses. (2) Providing local public good adaptation can at low economic costs significantly reduce negative impacts on welfare, GDP as well as the allocation of resources between regions and sectors. (3) Funding adaptation by imposing a regional land tax should be preferred to a national output tax or a combination of both with transfers from national to regional governments.}, language = {en} } @techreport{HoffmannHoppeZiemann, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Hoppe, Julia Amelie and Ziemann, Niklas}, title = {The Hare and the Hedgehog: Empirical evidence on the relationship between the individual Pace of Life and the speed-accuracy continuum}, publisher = {PLOS ONE}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0256490}, pages = {15}, abstract = {Against the background of the speed-accuracy trade-off, we explored whether the Pace of Life can be used to identify heterogeneity in the strategy to place more weight on either fast or accurate accomplishments. The Pace of Life approaches an individual's exposure to time and is an intensively studied concept in the evolutionary biology research. Albeit overall rarely, it is increasingly used to understand human behavior and may fulfill many criteria of a personal trait. In a controlled laboratory environment, we measured the participants' Pace of Life, as well as their performance on a real-effort task. In the real-effort task, the participants had to encode words, whereby each word encoded correctly was associated with a monetary reward. We found that individuals with a faster Pace of Life accomplished more tasks in total. At the same time, they were less accurate and made more mistakes (in absolute terms) than those with a slower Pace of Life. Thus, the Pace of Life seems to be useful to identify an individual's stance on the speed-accuracy continuum. In our specific task, placing more weight on speed instead of accuracy paid off: Individuals with a faster Pace of Life were ultimately more successful (with regard to their monetary revenue).}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannHoppeZiemann, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Hoppe, Julia Amelie and Ziemann, Niklas}, title = {Faster, Harder, Greener? Empirical Evidence on the Role of the Individual Pace of Life for Productivity and Pro-Environmental Behavior}, series = {Ecological Economics}, volume = {191 (2022)}, journal = {Ecological Economics}, issn = {0921-8009}, doi = {10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107212}, language = {en} } @misc{AlkhasliHoffmann, author = {Alkhasli, Isabel and Hoffmann, Christin}, title = {Neural and social-psychological correlates of immersion in a virtual reality safety training.}, series = {Proceedings of the third Neuroadaptive Technologie Conference 2022}, journal = {Proceedings of the third Neuroadaptive Technologie Conference 2022}, pages = {115 -- 117}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannZiemannPenskeetal., author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Ziemann, Niklas and Penske, Franziska and M{\"u}sgens, Felix}, title = {The value of secure electricity supply for increasing acceptance of green hydrogen - First experimental evidence from the virtual reality lab}, series = {19th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 06-08 June 2023, Lappeenranta, Finland}, journal = {19th International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM), 06-08 June 2023, Lappeenranta, Finland}, isbn = {979-8-3503-1258-4}, issn = {2165-4093}, doi = {10.1109/EEM58374.2023.10161844}, pages = {9}, abstract = {To unlock the high potential of green hydrogen in reaching the ambitious 1.5 °C goal declared by the Paris Agreement, enormous (public) investments are needed. Social acceptance of these investments is required in order to implement hydrogen technologies as fast and efficiently as possible. This study investigates which benefits associated with green hydrogen foster its social acceptance. Using a between-subject design, we implement two different treatments. Both treatments have in common that the participants experience the transformation into a hydrogen economy in a virtual reality scenario. In "Info Security of Supply", we provide the participants information about the benefits of green hydrogen regarding the security of energy supply and climate protection. In Control, we inform them only about the benefits of climate protection. Subsequently, the participants decide about the financial support of a hydrogen project. Our preliminary results show a higher support if the focus is solely on the positive impact of green hydrogen for climate protection.}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannJalboutVillanuevaetal., author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Jalbout, Eddy and Villanueva, Monica and Batz Li{\~n}eiro, Taimyra and M{\"u}sgens, Felix}, title = {Positive and Negative Externalities from Renewable and Conventional Power Plants in the Backyard: The Value of Participation}, series = {SSRN eLibrary}, journal = {SSRN eLibrary}, issn = {1556-5068}, doi = {10.2139/ssrn.4203184}, pages = {1 -- 33}, abstract = {We quantify the net external effects of conventional and renewable electricity generators by analyzing housing prices in their vicinity. Using a Differences-in-Differences approach, we find that (1) wind turbines reduce prices significantly, (2) solar fields have no significant impact, and (3) conventional plants over 1 km away show positive net effects. We set out to explain this result by disentangling the positive local external effects of energy generation, which we measure in terms of local purchasing power and tax revenues. Our results show that the commissioning of conventional power stations results in a significant increase in both purchasing power and business tax income in the vicinity. We thus conclude that significant financial participation of the local public in the development of renewable energy projects, especially wind turbines, could be key to increasing their acceptance and accelerating their expansion.}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannByrukuriGangadharMuesgens, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Byrukuri Gangadhar, Shanmukha Srinivas and M{\"u}sgens, Felix}, title = {Smells Like Green Energy - Quasi-Experimental Evidence on the Impact of Bioenergy Production on Residential Property Values}, series = {SSRN eLibrary}, journal = {SSRN eLibrary}, issn = {1556-5068}, doi = {10.2139/ssrn.4760312}, pages = {1 -- 26}, abstract = {Residents' acceptance of bioenergy is a prerequisite for its fast and efficient development but is ambiguously discussed in practice and research. We interpret a causal impact of bioenergy plant commissioning on housing prices in their vicinity as the average net external effects for residents. We utilize bioenergy plant construction data in Germany between 2007 and 2022 as a quasi-experiment with naturally occurring control groups in their vicinity and apply recently improved difference-in-difference estimation procedures to analyze instantaneous and heterogeneous treatment effects. We find a significant and negative impact on housing prices if plants use gaseous biofuel, generate electricity on-site, and are medium-sized. The magnitude of the effect is comparable to those for solar fields. In contrast, we find no impact for small and large bioenergy plants and those that use solid or liquid biofuels.}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannThommes, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Thommes, Kirsten}, title = {Seizing the Opportunity for Automation—How Traffic Density Determines Truck Drivers' Use of Cruise Control}, series = {IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems}, volume = {52}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Human-Machine Systems}, number = {6}, issn = {2168-2291}, doi = {10.1109/THMS.2022.3212335}, pages = {1205 -- 1215}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannThommes, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Thommes, Kirsten}, title = {Clear Roads and Dirty Air? Indirect effects of reduced private traffic congestion on emissions from heavy traffic}, series = {Journal of Cleaner Production}, volume = {381,2}, journal = {Journal of Cleaner Production}, issn = {0959-6526}, doi = {10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135053}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannThommes, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Thommes, Kirsten}, title = {Can digital feedback increase employee performance and energy efficiency in firms? Evidence from a field experiment}, series = {Journal of Economic Behavior \& Organization}, volume = {180}, journal = {Journal of Economic Behavior \& Organization}, issn = {0167-2681}, doi = {10.1016/j.jebo.2020.09.034}, pages = {49 -- 65}, abstract = {Giving performance feedback to increase employee productivity has shown ambiguous results: Many laboratory studies have demonstrated a statistically significant effect of feedback on performance, but the effect is less evident in the field. In addition, the effects of digital feedback are not well understood. This feedback differs from other types of feedback as it is personalized, but not generated and provided by another human, e.g., the supervisor, but by a machine. We conducted a field experiment in which we introduced digital feedback to improve truck drivers' performance by enhancing their energy-efficient driving behavior. Our results show that digital feedback led to a statistically significant but small overall improvement in energy efficiency and performance that is driven by the improvement of initially very good- and very bad-performing drivers. This effect is robust, even when considering the differences in the room for improvement relative to the initial performance.}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannThommes, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Thommes, Kirsten}, title = {Using loss aversion to incentivize energy efficiency in a principal-agent context—Evidence from a field experiment}, series = {Economics Letters}, volume = {Volume 189}, journal = {Economics Letters}, doi = {10.1016/j.econlet.2020.108984}, pages = {4}, abstract = {Promoting energy-efficient behavior of agents in a principal-agent context simultaneously decreases costs for firms and mitigates CO2 emissions. Along this line, we analyze the effect of incentive framing on energy-efficient driving behavior. Our results contribute to the understanding of the drawbacks of loss framing. In a situation with persistent labor market relations, an extremely low bonus, and heterogeneous prior performance, the introduction of a bonus framed as a gain outperforms that of a bonus framed as a loss.}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannThommes, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Thommes, Kirsten}, title = {Combining Egalitarian and Proportional Sharing rules in Team Tournaments to Incentivize Energy-Efficient Behavior in a Principal-Agent Context}, series = {Organization \& Environment}, volume = {35 (2022)}, journal = {Organization \& Environment}, number = {2}, issn = {1552-7417}, doi = {10.1177/1086026620945343}, pages = {307 -- 331}, abstract = {Triggering the energy-efficient behavior of agents in firms simultaneously decreases costs and mitigates CO2 emissions. If firms use team tournaments to increase energy-efficient behavior and thus employee performance, they may face unintended consequences, like a bifurcation effect: Individuals drop out if they believe that they cannot win the contest. By contrast, high-performing employees may overexert themselves. Additionally, some individuals might be tempted to free-ride. In a field experiment with truck drivers, we analyze whether proportional sharing of the bonus within teams based on individual effort instead of egalitarian sharing reduces both bifurcation and free-riding during team tournaments. Our results reveal that (1) the team contest improves performance; (2) this increase in performance is overall slightly stronger under the proportional than under the egalitarian sharing rule, using ceteris paribus comparisons; and (3) the performance increase is mainly driven by the team member performing worse.}, language = {en} } @misc{GoldbachHoffmannHoppeetal., author = {Goldbach, Carina and Hoffmann, Christin and Hoppe, Julia Amelie and Pitz, Thomas and Thommes, Kirsten}, title = {The fast and the furious—An experimental investigation of the pace of life and risky speed choice in traffic}, series = {PLOS ONE}, volume = {15}, journal = {PLOS ONE}, number = {7}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0236589}, abstract = {Despite discernible improvements in the last decades, speeding is still a pertinent problem for road safety, fuel efficiency, and greenhouse gas mitigation. In order to understand individual speeding decisions, we need a better understanding of who speeds. In our paper, we test whether individuals' general pace of life is associated with speeding decisions. We use a novel speed-choice experiment that confronts participants with a scenario in which they repeatedly decide between driving fast or slow. This decision is associated with different accident risks. Before the experiment, each participant's pace of life was measured. Our results show that individuals with a slower pace of life are more likely to choose slow in the experiment and are also more likely to switch to slow, even when they had success by driving fast in the preliminary round. Therefore, individuals' pace of life may contribute to our understanding of speeding.}, language = {en} } @misc{Hoffmann, author = {Hoffmann, Christin}, title = {Estimating the benefits of adaptation to extreme climate events, focusing on nonmarket damages}, series = {Ecological Economics}, journal = {Ecological Economics}, number = {164}, issn = {0921-8009}, doi = {10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.02.014}, pages = {20}, abstract = {This paper provides a first approach on how to evaluate nonmarket damages from extreme climate events in monetary units by applying a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) approach. We develop a static CGE model, which zooms into one single period of a standard Auerbach-Kotlikoff model. While we observe private and instantaneous adaptation in reaction to price changes, we explicitly model public adaptation funded by taxing either labor or capital. We apply our model to heat waves in Switzerland and are able to show that heat waves affect cohorts' utility in an unadapted economy in substantially different ways. While young and less vulnerable cohorts profit (in welfare terms and because of inheritance) from heat waves, vulnerable but surviving cohorts' welfare decreases substantially. Thus, without adaptation, vulnerable cohorts are worse off and might have even fewer possibilities to invest in private adaptation in the long run. Overall, we show that with adaptation, the negative impact of a 2003-like heat wave on output can be reduced from about -0.5\% of GDP to -0.04\% of GDP. Additionally, equivalent variation is reduced from about -1\% to -0.18\%.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hoffmann, author = {Hoffmann, Christin}, title = {Adaptation to extreme climate events at a regional scale}, address = {Bern}, pages = {XVI, 151}, language = {en} } @misc{HoffmannThommes, author = {Hoffmann, Christin and Thommes, Kirsten}, title = {Can leaders motivate employees' energy-efficient behavior with thoughtful communication?}, series = {Journal of Environmental Economics and Management}, volume = {125}, journal = {Journal of Environmental Economics and Management}, issn = {0095-0696}, doi = {10.1016/j.jeem.2024.102990}, pages = {1 -- 24}, abstract = {We study the effect of an employer's communication concerning energy-efficient behavior on a firm's employees' behavioral responses. The management aims to enhance energy-efficient behavior performance by irregularly sending online messages to remote employees. We break down each message, analyzing the positive or negative emotions conveyed, collective or individual orientation, and ease of language. Comparing employees' daily energy efficiency after receiving a message to their daily performance without a previous message, we find that messages generally result in an immediate increase in efficiency. Messages conveying negative emotions and those making a distinction between the manager and the employees have a smaller effect than messages conveying positive emotions and emphasizing a collective orientation that includes both the management and employees. Additionally, shorter messages are more likely to induce improved efficiency. Sending messages significantly impacts driver performance for up to six days after the message, resulting in economically relevant cost reductions.}, language = {en} }