Three new PhD students are starting their doctoral research at the CEE-M this autumn. What projects are they working on? What are their academic and professional backgrounds? Here are a few insights into the profiles of our new members:

Julia BALOYI

• PhD research project: “Between disgust and immunity: avoidance strategies and vulnerability to foodborne pathogen risk”. This PhD is part of the interdisciplinary SENS-ALIM project, funded through the NEXUS programme of the ExposUM Institute. It will be conducted jointly at ISEM and the CEE-M, under the supervision of Marie Charpentier (ISEM) and Arnaud Tognetti (CEE-M). The research aims to understand how disgust contributes to the adjustment of avoidance behaviours and physiological and immune responses according to individuals’ immune vulnerability. More specifically, it seeks to: (i) assess the impact of disgust on food avoidance behaviours, particularly through interpersonal distance and approach–avoidance decisions; (ii) investigate the links between disgust and, on the one hand, the associated physiological responses and, on the other, the activation of anticipatory immune responses; and (iii) determine whether increased immune vulnerability is associated with greater sensitivity to disgust and with amplified behavioural, physiological and immune responses.
• Academic and professional background: Julia holds a Master’s degree in Consumer Research, specialising in food choice behaviour (Physiological and Psychological Food Choice Determinants – P2FOOD), from Institut Agro Dijon, France. She completed her first- and second-year Master’s internships at Umeå University (Sweden) and International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) (France), where she worked on projects focusing on consumers, their needs and their behaviours. In both projects, the aim was to identify the factors influencing consumers’ food choices, such as their motivations, barriers, perceived health benefits, values and nutritional knowledge. The projects also sought to understand how these factors influence the adoption of reduced-sugar foods and plant-based fermented foods in everyday diets. She previously obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Food Science from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Luka BOISGIBAULT

• PhD research project: Luka’s PhD focuses on cognitive inference applied to strategic decision-making. It aims to identify and better understand individuals’ reasoning processes in game theory based on their choices and continuous data captured through eye-tracking. A second strand of the research uses Multi-Armed Bandit algorithms to design more adaptive and efficient experimental protocols. Luka is supervised by Adrien Nguyen-Huu (CEE-M).
• Academic and professional background: Luka holds a Master’s degree in Financial Markets, specialising in market risk analysis, from the University of Montpellier. He completed an internship in financial structuring, which involves designing financial products or arrangements tailored to a specific need, combining financial analysis, modelling and, in some cases, financial engineering. This experience led him to redirect his career towards research, with the aim of engaging in an intellectually stimulating project to which he hopes to make a meaningful contribution.

Luca ROMANAZZI

• PhD research project: This PhD aims to investigate how the perception of disease cues influences social behaviour. The project draws in particular on game theory and adopts a strongly interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of psychology, evolutionary biology and immunology, with the aim of understanding the behavioural and physiological mechanisms involved in the perception and management of disease risk. Luca’s PhD is supervised by Marie Charpentier (ISEM) and co-supervised by Arnaud Tognetti (CEE-M) and Camille Ferdenzi (CRNL).
• Academic and professional background: Luca holds a Master’s degree in Biology, specialising in animal behaviour, from the University of Neuchâtel. He completed several research internships focusing on the behaviour of non-human primates. He also worked as a research officer at the University Centre for General Medicine and Public Health in Lausanne, where he contributed to a human biomonitoring project aimed at better understanding occupational exposures in the recycling sector.

Article New arrivals at CEE-M appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.

The measures currently being implemented to address climate change and biodiversity collapse remain insufficient. However, attributing this situation solely to a lack of political will does not provide the full explanation. The nature of the transformations required, as well as the conditions under which contemporary democracies must organise them, also need to be taken into account. Understanding these constraints helps explain why the ecological transition calls for new approaches to governance.

Environmental warnings are now widely communicated by international scientific institutions. But recognising a problem is not enough to solve it.

Over the past three decades, many countries have adopted policies aimed at tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. Assessments conducted at both international and national levels by independent institutions, such as the High Council on Climate in France and the Climate Change Committee in the United Kingdom, point to a common finding: despite genuine progress, the policies implemented remain insufficient to achieve the stated objectives.

This gap is often attributed to a lack of political will, or even political courage. While appealing, this explanation remains incomplete.

• An article by Guy Richard (INRAE, DEPE), Jean-Michel Salles (CNRS Senior Researcher, CEE-M), and Michel Colombier (IDDRI).

Read the article >>>

This article concludes a trilogy of articles published by the three authors between June and September 2026 in The Conversation:

• 11 June 2026: The catastrophe that is slow to arrive: why do humans seem to be living better on a deteriorating planet?
• 9 July 2026: Why are environmental warnings so difficult to hear?
• 2 September 2026: Why is the ecological transition so difficult to govern?

Article “Why is the ecological transition so difficult to govern?”: New article in The Conversation appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.

The 6th Workshop on Experimental Economics will take place in Montpellier on 25 and 26 September 2026. Jointly organized by the CEEM, CREST, ESSEC Business School, and Waseda University (Japan), the workshop will bring together around 30 international researchers working in the field of experimental economics.

• Program

  Fryday 25 September, Faculty of Medicine, 2 Rue de l'École de Médecine, 34000 Montpellier, France

  9:15–9:45 Registration, welcome coffee

  9:45 Opening remarks

  9:50–10:30 Nobuyuki Hanaki (ISER, Osaka) : "Choice Bracketing and Hedging under Random Incentive System"

  10:30–11:10 Maria del Pilar Montero Garcia (University of Nottingham) : "Understanding the Compromise Effect in Bargaining"

  Coffee break

  11:30–12:10 Guillaume Hollard (CREST, École Polytechnique) : Titre à préciser

  12:10–12:50 Melis Kartal (University of Vienna) : "Confidence sharing improves social learning"

  Lunch

  13:50–14:30 Rustam Romaniuc : Titre à préciser

  14:30–15:10 Matias Nunez (CREST, École Polytechnique) : "Dynamic (un)structured bargaining in the lab"

  Coffee break

  15:30–16:10 Ryuichiro Ishikawa (Waseda University, Tokyo) : "Collective Choice and Cooperation under Uncertainty"

  16:10–16:50 Thomas Epper (IESEG and CNRS, Lille) : "Uncovering Rationality"

  16:50–17:30 Dimitrios Xefteris (University of Cyprus) : "Ballot Richness and Information Aggregation"

  19:30 Dinner
  

  Saturday 26 september,  Paul Valéry University, , Site Saint Charles, 1 Rue du Professeur Henri Serre in Montpellier (Room 002)

  9:40–10:20 Arno Riedl (Maastricht University) : " Uncertainty and preferences: Evidence from the 2024 US presidential election"

  10:20–11:00 Ai Takeuchi (GATE, Lyon) : "The effects of endowment differences on preferences over the allocation of benefits"

  Coffee break

  11:20–11:40 Noémie Bobin (CEE-M, Montpellier) : "Competitive Sport Experience and Multiple Measures of Competitiveness : "

• 11:40–12:00 Lisa Salvetti (CEE-M, Montpellier) : "Keep it Clean! Civic Engagement and Norm Enforcement in the City.""

  12:00–12:40 Gwen-Jiro Clochard (ISER, Osaka) : "Contact and the Price of Prejudice"

  Lunch

  13:40–14:20 Leonardo Pejsachowicz (Paris 1) : "The transaction test: An experimental method for assessing online interfaces"

  14:20–15:00 Michela Chessa (GREDEG, CNRS, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice) : "Avatar Exposure and Strategic Coordination in Virtual Reality: Evidence from a Threshold Public Goods Experiments"

  Break

  15:00–15:40 Yoshio Kamijo (Waseda University, Tokyo) : "Performance under Sabotage-Enabled Competition: Asymmetric Gender Effects for Perpetrators and Targets"

  15:40–16:20 Angela Sutan (ESSEC, Paris)  :"A philosophical responsability game."

• Organisateurs

Marc Willinger (CEEM), Angela Sutan (ESSEC), Matías Núñez (CREST), Yukihiko Funaki (Waseda), Guillaume Hollard (CREST), Yukio Koriyama (CREST)

• Event website >>>

Article CEEM / CREST / ESSEC 2026 Workshop in Experimental Economics, September 25th-26th 2026, Montpellier appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.

A study on global inequalities suggests that air pollution may account for up to 25% of the gap in exam performance between students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and those from more privileged backgrounds.

An article by Stéphane Mandard, published in Le Monde, reports on the findings of a study conducted by Simon Briole and Camille Salesse*, researchers at the Montpellier Centre for Environmental Economics.

Simon and Camille analysed administrative data from nearly 5 million secondary school students, combining it with air pollution measurements, and then compared their results across two major examinations: the Diplôme National du Brevet (lower-secondary school certificate) and the Baccalauréat (French upper-secondary school leaving examination).

The study is distinctive in that it focuses not on the already documented effects of chronic exposure to air pollution, but rather on the effects of short-term pollution peaks occurring during examinations, when results can have a decisive impact on students’ subsequent educational and professional trajectories.

The authors identify two possible avenues for action: reducing air pollution (by introducing low-emission zones around schools or installing air purification systems in examination rooms) and disseminating teaching practices that help students become more resilient to examination conditions.

Read the article >>> (in french)

*Camille Salesse is a researcher at the Montpellier Centre for Environmental Economics.

Article “Air pollution may contribute to widening educational inequalities”: Le Monde article on a study conducted by Simon Briole and Camille Salesse appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.

Two postdoctoral researchers and two PhD students have recently joined the CEE-M. What projects are they working on? What are their academic and professional backgrounds? Here are a few insights into the profiles of our new members:

ROMAIN BLANCANEAUX

• Postdoctoral research project: “How digital technologies are mobilized to support the agroecological transition, particularly in reducing pesticide use.” As part of this research project supervised by Julie Subervie, Romain examines what underlies and is implied by the promise of complementarity between digital technologies and agroecology: Which actors and rationales underpin this promise? Which agroecological practices and digital technologies are most usefully combined and promoted? How do these combinations of agroecology and digital technologies spread? Under what social, economic and political conditions do they — or do they not — correspond to farmers’ realities? This research notably examines which digital solutions are associated with reducing input use and how these solutions are framed and presented.
• Academic and professional background: Romain holds a PhD in political science. He has recently completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the MoISA Joint Research Unit (UMR MoISA), as part of the DIGItag project, which focused on scaling up agroecological vegetable farming through digital technologies.

MAROUCHKA VIOLA

• PhD research project: “Measuring the impact of climate change education programmes: from the development of cognitive, socio-emotional and agency-related skills to students’ civic engagement.” This CIFRE PhD, conducted jointly between the Office for Climate Education (OCE) and the CEE-M, aims to identify, through causal analysis, the educational approaches that help bridge the gap between learning and action on climate change. It draws on a large-scale experimental evaluation of the CLIMASCO teacher training programme, as well as a cost-benefit analysis of its scaling-up. Marouchka is supervised by Simon Briole and Emmanuelle Lavaine (CEE-M).
• Academic and professional background: A graduate of the Environmental Economics and Policy Master’s programme at the Toulouse School of Economics, Marouchka worked as a Research Associate at J-PAL Europe (IDEE programme), following previous experience at Innovations for Poverty Action (Ghana) and at the Bordeaux School of Economics, where she worked on a randomized controlled trial in Burkina Faso.

ISMAIL DHIFALLAH

• PhD research project: “Climate change adaptation of drinking water services: acceptability of adaptation solutions.” Ismail joined the CEE-M as part of a CIFRE PhD funded by Veolia. He is supervised by Cécile Bazart and Marion Podesta (Art-Dev).
• Academic and professional background: Ismail holds a Master’s degree in Coastal and Marine Management, a multidisciplinary programme combining management, economics, geography and water sciences, with a focus on the management of coastal and marine areas.

CLAIRE AUGER

• Postdoctoral research project: Claire has joined the CEE-M to contribute to the development of ecoacoustic methods for monitoring biodiversity in human-dominated environments, with a particular focus on agricultural landscapes in Uganda. She is supervised by Sébastien Desbureaux (CEE-M).
• Academic and professional background: After training as an agronomist (2018–2021), with a specialization in BEE-EFCE at the University of Rennes 1, Claire completed a PhD in conservation ecology at the Éco-Anthropologie Joint Research Unit (UMR 7206). Her research focused on the use of Wildlife Friendly ecolabels as tools to promote biodiversity-friendly farming practices in landscapes surrounding protected areas.

Article New arrivals at CEE-M appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.

The FAIRInv (Fostering Appetite for Individual Responsible Investment) project, coordinated by Adrien Nguyen-Huu as Principal Investigator, has been selected for funding under a call for proposals from the ANR (French National Research Agency). The project will be funded for a period of four years.

This decision marks the launch of an ambitious research programme focusing on the determinants of responsible investment among individual investors, at the intersection of finance, behavioural economics and experimental methods.

Adrien will have the opportunity to present the project in greater detail very soon. In the meantime, he would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the project and supported him throughout its development: Sébastien Duchêne, Markus Strucks, Brice Magdalou, Dimitri DUBOIS (CEE-M), Elena Asparouhova, Stefanie Stantcheva, Michael Kirchler, Juergen Huber, Marie Brière, Matthias Stefan, Rene Schwaiger and Marten Laudi.

Article The new ANR FAIRInv project (Fostering Appetite for Individual Responsible Investment), coordinated by Adrien Nguyen-Huu appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.

CEE-M welcomes Bodo Rehm, a PhD researcher at the University of Bonn (Germany), for a three-month research stay

Originally from Cologne, Bodo studied agricultural science before specialising in agricultural economics. His research focuses on farmers’ adoption behaviour, particularly in relation to pulses, biostimulants and so-called “club varieties”.

As part of his research stay, Bodo is working with Sophie Thoyer to investigate how public policies and regulatory frameworks can influence farmers’ contributions to environmental protection. This research is being conducted in the context of the upcoming post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Bodo and Sophie are currently reviewing evidence from experimental and observational studies in order to identify the main findings from the existing literature and highlight areas where further research is needed.

This research stay provides Bodo with an opportunity to exchange with CEE-M researchers and further develop his thinking about the direction of his research following the completion of his PhD.

This is his first time in Montpellier, and Bodo also hopes to take advantage of his stay to discover the city and its surroundings!

The entire CEE-M team wishes Bodo a very enjoyable and rewarding stay with us!

Article Visiting : Bodo Rehm, Phd at University of Bonn appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.

• Save the date: the 2026 edition of the CEE-M annual workshop is scheduled for 24 and 25 November 2026 in Montpellier.

We are delighted to welcome Julia Berazneva (Middlebury College and co-director of the Vermont Centre for Behavioural Science Research on Climate and the Environment) as our keynote speaker.

Julia Berazneva’s research focuses primarily on the links between development economics and resource and environmental economics, with a particular interest in human–environment interactions and sustainable development.

More information to follow...

• Contact: Antoine Pietri 

Article Save the Date: 10th édition of “CEE-M Environmental and Natural Resource Economics” workshop, November 24 and 25 novembre 2026 in Montpellier appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.

Congratulations to Catalina, who has been awarded the University of Montpellier Doctoral College Award (CDUM). This prize recognizes three PhD graduates from the 2025 graduating class whose research stands out for its interdisciplinary nature.

How can tropical forests—essential for mitigating climate change and maintaining ecosystem stability—be conserved while also supporting economic development in fragile contexts? This is the central question addressed in Catalina's PhD research. Her work explores ways to reconcile these two objectives in countries facing multiple challenges, including insecure land tenure, weak law enforcement, armed conflicts, poverty, limited technological capacity, and insufficient financial resources. The research adopts a multi-scale approach, combining local case studies in the Amazon, national-level analysis in the Congo Basin, and an intertropical perspective based on five regional studies.

Catalina completed her PhD at the CEE-M under the supervision of Sébastien Roussel and Emmanuelle Lavaine, , both members of the CEE-M. She successfully defended her dissertation in November 2025.

The award was granted following an evaluation by the doctoral schools and an oral presentation before an interdisciplinary selection committee.

The award ceremony took place on 6 July 2026, following the meeting of the Research Commission of the University of Montpellier, in the presence of the University's President, the Vice-President for Research, and members of the selection committee.

Article Congratulations to Catalina, Recipient of the University of Montpellier Doctoral College Award appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.

The recent heatwaves in Europe caught both populations and public authorities off guard—but not scientists, who have been warning about global warming for decades. Why, then, have they not been listened to more closely?

One of the founding moments in the modern history of environmental warnings was the publication of Silent Spring in 1962 by Rachel Carson (1907–1964).

Since then, warnings have multiplied: acid rain, ozone layer depletion, climate change, desertification, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution. Yet despite the accumulation of scientific knowledge, these warnings are often challenged, ignored, or met with skepticism.

Environmental warnings do not always go unheeded. Silent Spring, for example, led to the widespread banning of DDT. The work of chemists Mario Molina and Frank Rowland contributed to the gradual phase-out of CFCs, the main substances responsible for ozone depletion. In both cases, relatively simple substitute solutions quickly became available, which may have reduced the cost of change while also creating economic actors supportive of the transition.

However, even these changes did not occur without resistance. In most cases, we must ask why it remains so difficult for environmental warnings to be heard.

An article by :

•  Guy Richard (INRAE, DEPE),
• Jean-Michel Salles (CNRS Research Director, CEE-M)
• Michel Colombier (IDDRI).

Read the article >>> (in french)

Article “Why Are Environmental Warnings So Difficult to Hear?”: A New Article in The Conversation appeared first on Center for Environmental Economics - Montpellier.