teaching and public goods

Costanza Tomaselli

I'm a PhD student in Economics at Imperial College Business School. I am interested in environmental and energy economics, climate finance, industrial organisation and labour economics.

c.tomaselli21@imperial.ac.uk

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working papers

Green or Greed? Unveiling the Environmental Impact of Market Consolidation on Carbon Emissions

Draft Available Upon Request

Winner of the XII Giorgio Rota Best Paper Award


Abstract: This paper explores the relationship between market concentration and environmental performance, with a particular focus on the aftermath of mergers. Drawing ​from foundational economic principles, I hypothesize that increased market power, typically associated with reduced output relative to competitive market conditions, ​could similarly influence a firm's emissions profile, potentially lowering GHG emissions. This hypothesis introduces a complex tension between two pivotal policy ​objectives: the reduction of emissions and the preservation of competitive market structures. Novel empirical findings suggest that mergers exhibit a comparable positive ​impact on environmental indicators. This insight paves the way for a broader discussion on the dual objectives of companies in merger scenarios — increasing their market ​power versus achieving environmental efficiency.

Greening the Red: the Relationship between Climate Risk and Corporate Financial Distress with ​Matilde Faralli (Imperial College London PhD student)

Draft Available Upon Request

Winner of the Best PhD Paper at the Essex Finance Conference in Banking and Corporate Finance


Abstract: This study investigates the intricate relationship between bankruptcy proceedings and climate risk. By constructing a unique dataset spanning business ​bankruptcies from 2000 to 2023 linked to companies' environmental indicators, we document that green and brown companies do not face different probabilities of ​experiencing distress and bankruptcy. However, bankrupted brown firms are more inclined to file for reorganization instead of liquidation and encounter lower bankruptcy ​costs. To mitigate endogeneity concerns in companies' bankruptcy decisions, we employ a randomized bankruptcy judge allocation approach to understand how ​bankruptcy affects firms' environmental performance. Using post-bankruptcy facility emission data, our findings show that firms undergoing reorganization tend to exhibit ​lower emissions when compared to their liquidated counterparts. This distinction highlights the significant but previously understudied impact that bankruptcy proceedings ​can have on a firm's environmental footprint, suggesting that reorganization efforts may worsen environmental performance.

Shockwaves in the Market: The Ripple Effect of Sudden Energy Spikes on Firms and Workers with ​Ralf Martin (ICL, IFC and CEPR) and Emilien Ravigne (Oxford University)


Abstract: This paper provides novel empirical findings on the repercussions of rising energy prices on the economy with a specific emphasis on employment, through the ​lens of the Cobb-Douglas production function model. In light of recent energy price surges following the 2021 energy crisis, we quantitatively assess the effects of energy ​price increases on job losses, examining the mitigating potential of different types of government subsidies. By using administrative UK firm level data, our analysis ​differentiates between scenarios with and without policy intervention, providing insights into the effectiveness of different types of subsidies in cushioning the economy ​and preserving employment. Preliminary results suggest that energy price hikes significantly impact labor demand, strategic government subsidies can alleviate some of ​these adverse effects, though not without costs. The impact seems to be more concentrated in the transport and accommodation sector and in metropolitan areas. The ​findings contribute to the current discussion on energy policy and resilience, providing valuable insights to the role of government in stabilizing the job market during ​periods of economic volatility.

work in progress

Decoding the Greenium: Heterogeneous Investor Responses to Carbon Shocks with Marina Emiris ​(National Bank of Belgium - NBB), Marco Valerio Geraci (NBB) and Mirabelle Muûls (Imperial College ​London and NBB)

policy publications

Government as Insurer of Last Resort

Download: Published version


The Balance Sheet Review Report

Download: Published version

Presented at the World Bank


CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

2024: Interdisciplinary PhD Workshop in Sustainable Development (IPWSD) at Columbia ​University, Giorgio Rota Conference at Torino University, Comparative Analysis of Enterprise ​Data (CAED) at Penn State University, POID LSE Seminar, QMUL 6th PhD Conference, 6th ​JRC Summer School on Sustainable Finance, Harvard Climate Economics Pipeline ​Workshop*, Paris Dauphine PhD conference, Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) 2024 Conference in ​Banking and Corporate Finance, CEPR Workshop - Trade Geography and IO, EEA 2024, EARIE ​2024, 4th WE_ARE_IN Macroeconomics and Finance Conference, Climate Workshop Banca ​d’Italia (Planned)


2023: VII conference on Econometric Modelling of Climate Change, LSE/Imperial/King's ​Workshop in Environmental Economics


*Presented by co-authors


awards

2024: Winner of the Giorgio Rota award for Young Scholars in Economics

Winner of the Best PhD Paper at the Essex Finance Conference in Banking and ​Corporate Finance


2021: Winner of the Imperial College President Scolarship

A competitive scheme for candidates showing excellent academic performance and promising research potential



teaching

Teaching Assistant to Professor Ralf Martin Imperial College London

MSc course - Business Economics, Climate Change and the Environment


Teaching Assistant to Professor Simon Quinn Imperial College London

Undergraduate course - Econometrics


refereeing

Nature and Journal of Industrial and Business Economics (ad hoc requests)

conference organising

Part of the organising committee of the Imperial PhD conference in economics and finance