Koichiro Ito

Associate 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 an Associate Professor at Harris School of Public Policy at University of Chicago. 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. Do Consumers Distinguish Fixed Cost from Variable Cost? “Schmeduling” in Two-Part Tariffs in Energy
    NBER Working Paper #26853, August 2023 (with Shuang Zhang).
    Revised and resubmitted to American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.
    Abstract | Paper

  3. 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). Submitted.
    Abstract | Paper | NBER WP | BFI WP


Published and accepted papers


  1. 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 | Appendix | Japanese

  2. 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 | NBER WP

  3. 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 | Wall Street Journal | Forbes | Bloomberg | Japanese

  4. 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 | Nikkei Business | Japanese

  5. 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 | Washington Post | Forbes | Japanese

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

  7. 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

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


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