RESEARCH STATEMENT
My research connects different disciplines and substantive areas. Building on a background of international relations, political economy, environmental politics and economics, I aim to understand the phenomenon of private governance, its character, dynamics and impact in the context of developing countries. I draw on theories in international political economy, environmental politics and industrial organization. I use several methods, quantitative as well as qualitative and simulation in the form of agent-based modeling.
As a case study I look at private sustainability standards in the flower sector in Kenya.
RESEARCH
THE GLOBAL DIFFUSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLUBS
Co-authored paper with Christopher Adolph and Aseem Prakash at the University of Washington: "The global diffusion of environmental clubs: how pressure from importing countries supports the chemical industry's Responsible Care® program", World Development, 2020.
This paper addresses the global diffusion of the chemical industry's Responsible Care program. We find that this program spreads to countries via the 'California Effect'. Adoption is more likely when a country exports chemicals to another country that has joined Responsible Care, whereas exposure to global markets per se does not determine adoption.
ENVIRONMENTAL ACCIDENTS AND FIRMS' REPUTATION
Co-authored paper with William McGuire and Aseem Prakash at the University of Washington
Under review
Environmental governance scholars recognize that firms adopt specific environmental practices to enhance their environmental reputations. This is a central assumption of the literature on voluntary environmental standards as an alternative to traditional forms of environmental regulation. Yet, firms are subjected to negative exogenous shocks that can damage their reputations for protecting the health and safety of their employees and communities. How long does this damage last? To what extent do all firms in the industry, as opposed to the specific firm that suffered the accident, suffer reputational damage?
PRIVATE STANDARDS AND INEQUALITY
Co-authored paper with Roberto Calisti.
Under review
We built an agent-based model of the flower sector in Kenya and look whether the introduction of private sustainability standards, which are directed at environmental and or social development, do actually exacerbate or diminish existing inequalities between flower farms through unintended consequences of these standards like first mover advantages and standards' impact on trade relationships.
VARIETY OF STANDARDS
Work in progress
Private sustainability standards come in many shapes and forms. Research often highlights the differences between these standards. This paper dives in to the strategic reasons for these differences. Why do not all standards aim to be strict? And why do firms sometimes desire stricter standards than the NGOs setting them. Are weak standards signs of greenwashing, or are weak standards actually optimal?
PRIVATE STANDARDS AND GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS
Work in progress
This research addresses the interaction between 'type' of standard and 'type' of global value chain, together explaining the uptake of standards on farm level, looking at the flower sector in Kenya. Standards set by civil society stay limited to particular value chains, whereas self-regulation by producers creates standards that are taken up across the board. These different types of standards have therefore a very different impact on development.
COMRADES OR ACQUAINTANCES?
In collaboration with Yixian Sun, Yale
Work in progress
We do a social network analysis of transnational sustainability standard communities in meta-governance organizations. This paper asks: what forces shape interactions among standards in the meta-governance networks and how do such interactions change over time? We focus on ISEAL Alliance, the most influential meta-governance organization of sustainability standards, and investigate three types of ties linking 21 ISEAL members from 2012 to 2017 – collaboration and partnerships, board interlocks, and joint funders.
GROWTH-EMISSION DECOUPLING
This is a co-authored paper with Aseem Prakash and Christopher Adolf.
Work in progress
Some countries experience economic growth without increasing their carbon emissions. This “growth-emission decoupling” could be explained either by a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy or by “carbon leakages” whereby the domestic production of emission-intensive products ceases but the country imports these products from abroad. Working with a dataset of 147 countries over the period, 1990-2014, we find that the ‘outsourcing’ of carbon emissions has 5 times as much salience in explaining the reduction in carbon emissions, in relation to as the switch to renewable energy.
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Volkskrant, May 26 2021
The right incentives need to be created to give us the best shot at reducing climate change, and limiting the supply of fossil fuel sets the right incentives to achieve this. Like this, economic forces work in our favor.
LSE blog, March 1st 2021
Governments could at least request carbon neutral behavior from their citizens. The corona crisis has shown that demanding people’s help and contribution can make a large difference for the creation and protection of public goods – in this case protecting the health of the population. People often follow the voluntary guidelines from the government. I argue that this voluntary contribution to a common good can be harnessed in mitigating global warming as well.
Volkskrant, August 27, 2020
Op-ed in Dutch newspaper arguing that governments could at least request carbon neutral behavior from their citizens. The corona crisis has shown that demanding people’s help and contribution can make a large difference for the creation and protection of public goods – in this case protecting the health of the population. I argue that this voluntary contribution to a common good can be harnessed in mitigating global warming as well.
