The Impact of Experiments on Environmental and Natural Resource Policy

Christian Vossler, Timothy Cason, James J. Murphy, Paul J. Ferraro, Todd L. Cherry, George Loewenstein, Peter Martinsson, Jason Shogren, Leaf van Boven and Daan van Soest

Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2026, vol. 20, issue 2, 174 - 193

Abstract: Experiments are sometimes viewed as being too limited to provide input into policy. Contrary to this perspective, we document diverse ways in which experimental findings have influenced environmental and natural resource policy decisions. We show how experiments have informed or changed the designs of emissions trading programs, conservation auctions, pro-environmental initiatives directed at households, and regulatory enforcement and compliance schemes. Experiments have also produced nonmarket demand estimates that have informed government regulatory analyses. We highlight the context and conditions that produced these experiment-policy links and offer insights into how researchers can better engage with the policy-making process and increase the impact of experimental research on policy.

Date: 2026
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