Koichiro Ito

Professor at University of Chicago



University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy
1307 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
ito@uchicago.edu

CV | Research | Teaching | Bio | Japanese

Welcome to my website. I am a Professor at University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. I received a PhD from UC Berkeley. Prior to joining University of Chicago, I was a SIEPR Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University and an Assistant Professor at Boston University. Currently, I serve as a member of the Board of Editors for American Economic Review and an associate editor of Japanese Economic Review.


Working Papers


  1. Choosing Who Chooses: Selection-Driven Targeting in Energy Rebate Programs
    NBER Working Paper #30469, September 2023 (with Takanori Ida, Takunori Ishihara, Daido Kido, Toru Kitagawa, Shosei Sakaguchi, Shusaku Sasaki).
    Revised and resubmitted to Econometrica.
    Abstract | Paper | NBER WP

  2. International Spillover Effects of Air Pollution: Evidence from Mortality and Health Data
    NBER Working Paper #30830, September 2023 (with Seonmin Will Heo and Rao Kotamarthi).
    Revised and resubmitted to Review of Economics and Statistics.
    Abstract | Paper | NBER WP | BFI WP

  3. Dynamic Targeting: Experimental Evidence from Energy Rebate Programs
    NBER Working Paper #32561, June 2024 (with Takanori Ida, Takunori Ishihara, Daido Kido, Toru Kitagawa, Shosei Sakaguchi, Shusaku Sasaki).
    Abstract | Paper | NBER WP


Published and accepted papers


  1. Do Consumers Distinguish Fixed Cost from Variable Cost? “Schmeduling” in Two-Part Tariffs in Energy
    American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, forthcoming. (with Shuang Zhang)
    Abstract | Paper

  2. Selection on Welfare Gains: Experimental Evidence from Electricity Plan Choice
    American Economic Review, 113 (11): 2937-73, 2023. (with Takanori Ida and Makoto Tanaka).
    Abstract | Paper | Slides | Bibtex | Appendix | Japanese

  3. The Investment Effects of Market Integration: Evidence from Renewable Energy Expansion in Chile
    Econometrica, 91 (5): 1659-1693, 2023. (with Luis Gonzales and Mar Reguant)
    Abstract | Paper | Slides | Bibtex | NBER WP

  4. Willingness to Pay for Clean Air: Evidence from Air Purifier Markets in China
    Journal of Political Economy, 128 (5): 1627-1672, 2020. (Lead Article, with Shuang Zhang)
    Abstract | Paper | Slides | Bibtex | Wall Street Journal | Forbes | Bloomberg | Japanese

  5. The Economics of Attribute-Based Regulation: Theory and Evidence from Fuel-Economy Standards
    Review of Economics and Statistics, 100 (2): 319-336, 2018. (with Jim Sallee)
    Abstract | Paper | Slides | Bibtex | Nikkei Business | Japanese

  6. Moral Suasion and Economic Incentives: Field Experimental Evidence from Energy Demand
    American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 10 (1): 240-67, 2018. (with Takanori Ida and Makoto Tanaka)
    Abstract | Paper | Slides | Bibtex | Washington Post | Forbes | Japanese

  7. Sequential Markets, Market Power and Arbitrage
    American Economic Review, 106 (7): 1921-57, 2016. (with Mar Reguant)
    Abstract | Paper | Slides | Bibtex | Japanese

  8. Asymmetric Incentives in Subsidies: Evidence from a Large-Scale Electricity Rebate Program
    American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 7 (3): 209-37, 2015.
    Abstract | Paper | Slides | Bibtex

  9. Do Consumers Respond to Marginal or Average Price? Evidence from Nonlinear Electricity Pricing
    American Economic Review, 104 (2): 537-63, 2014.
    Abstract | Paper | Slides | Bibtex


Books


  1. Smart Grid Economics: A Field Experimental Approach to Demand Response, Springer Singapore, 2024. (with Takanori Ida and Makoto Tanaka).

  2. 『スマートグリッド・エコノミクス』, 有斐閣, 2017. (with Takanori Ida and Makoto Tanaka).

  3. 『データ分析の力 因果関係に迫る思考法』, 光文社新書, 2017. Awarded the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities and the Nikkei Prize for Best Economics Book in 2017. Originally written in Japanese. Translated to Taiwanese in 2017 and Korean in 2018.


Book Chapters


  1. Four Proposals to Improve Fuel Economy Standards, in U.S. Energy & Climate Roadmap: Evidence-Based Policies for Effective Action, Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (2021), 122-134.

  2. 経済理論と実証分析に基づく電力市場設計 in『現代経済学の潮流 2021』, 東洋経済新報社, 2021.


Policy Briefs


  1. Challenges for Upcoming Deregulation of Japan’s Electricity Sector
    Keizai Kyoshitsu, Nihon Keizai Shinbun, February 2016

  2. Reforming Japan’s Electricity Sector: Abe’s Push for Deregulation
    National Bureau of Asian Research, October 2013

  3. Do Energy Rebate Programs Encourage Conservation?
    Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Policy Brief #2419, April 2012

  4. Reforming Japan’s Power Industry
    Presentation at “One Year After Japan’s 3/11 Disaster: Reforming Japan’s Energy Sector, Governance, and Economy,” Stanford University, February 2012