Welcome Aboard!How do individual beliefs influence environmental and sustainability outcomes?Prof. Dr. Anca Balietti joins the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences

8 April 2026, by Balietti/Red.

Photo: private

Prof. Dr. Anca Balietti

Every year, numerous new researchers join the University of Hamburg. In this series, we introduce them and their fields of research. This time: economist Anca Balietti.

Prof. Dr. Anca Balietti moved from University Heidelberg to the University of Hamburg for the 2026 summer semester. She has assumed a professorship in Economics, with a focus on Sustainability Economics, at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.

My research area in three sentences:

My research examines how societies can achieve sustainable development and how economic policies can support this goal. I study how people form beliefs about issues such as climate change, air pollution, and environmental protection, and how these beliefs influence public support for policy. Another focus of my work is evaluating environmental regulations and understanding who benefits from them and who bears their costs.

And this is how I explain to my family what it’s all about:

Environmental problems such as climate change, air pollution, and water contamination pose risks to both human health and the economy. Scientists work to measure and understand these risks and, together with governments and other organizations, communicate this knowledge to the public so that people can make informed decisions. For example, individuals may decide how much energy they use, how they travel, or which political proposals and environmental policies they support. However, information about environmental risks can also be complex, uncertain, or distressing. As a result, people do not always interpret or accept this information in the same way, and their final beliefs about these risks can differ from the best available scientific evidence. My research studies how people form these beliefs and how their personal behavior and political choices change in response to them.

That’s why I am looking forward to Hamburg – to the city and the university.

I am looking forward to the culturally rich, modern, and dynamic atmosphere in Hamburg. It is a city I have heard many good things about, and I arrive with great expectations and curiosity. I am especially excited to join the University of Hamburg because of its strong research environment and the many connections to my own work. I also look forward to meeting the students and sharing with them my enthusiasm for learning and discovery.

These are my plans at the University of Hamburg:

At the University of Hamburg, I look forward to joining and contributing to the strong research groups working on topics such as environmental economics, behavioral economics, health economics, and political economy. I am also particularly excited to contribute to the Cluster of Excellence “Climate, Climatic Change, and Society” (CLICCS), and to learn from and exchange ideas with the many disciplinary perspectives brought together in the cluster. In teaching, I hope to engage students with the economic and societal challenges of sustainability and equip them with the tools to analyze these issues critically.

Here’s why students should definitely attend my courses:

Students in my courses learn to understand some of the most important economic challenges of our time. We study issues such as climate policy, environmental protection, and sustainable consumption, combining economic theory with insights from behavioral economics and political economy. The goal is for students to gain analytical tools that help them understand real-world policy debates and think critically about how economic systems and individual behavior shape sustainability outcomes.

A look at the wider world: I collaborate with these international organizations, universities, and institutions:

My research examines sustainability challenges in both advanced economies, such as Western Europe and the United States, and large emerging economies like India and China. Because I study how individual beliefs and behavior shape environmental outcomes, understanding local economic, institutional, and cultural contexts is essential. Close collaboration with international co-authors and an active global research network therefore plays a central role in my work.

Why my research is important for society:

My research is important for society because challenges such as climate change, air pollution, and economic inequality are among the defining issues of our time. Developing effective and broadly supported solutions requires understanding how people perceive risks, how they form beliefs, and how these beliefs shape support for public policy. My work contributes to designing environmental and economic policies that are both effective and socially sustainable.

(This content has been translated automatically.)