Dr Stefania Innocenti

Departmental Research Lecturer in Environmental and Resource Management

Profile

Stefania is a Departmental Research Lecturer at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. She serves as the Deputy director of the Economics of Sustainability programme at the School and at the Institute for New Economic Thinking where she directly leads the Behaviour and the Environment research group [coming soon]. She is also an Associate Member of the Economics Department and a member of Brasenose College.

Stefania is a behavioural economist specialising in the use of lab, field, and online experiments, combined with surveys, observational data, and Agent-Based Models. Her research focuses on identifying behavioural barriers that hinder progress toward a sustainable and equitable future and designing interventions to overcome them. In this context, she explores how individual actions, social norms, and institutional dynamics interact to shape economic and environmental outcomes.

A significant part of her work leverages innovative engagement tools – such as video games, animation, Virtual Reality – alongside strategic communication to drive transformative climate action. For instance, she has investigated how information campaigns can shift public support for climate policies, encourage sustainable dietary habits, and reduce the psychological distance to climate futures.

Beyond environmental issues, her research extends to health decision-making, labor market dynamics, and financial behavior.