Prof. Catherine D Wolfram

Much of Wolfram’s research focuses on energy markets. Her recent work includes papers on price caps and Russian oil exports and the economic implications of climate provisions under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Professor Wolfram studies default effects in the context of a residential electricity-pricing program. She analyzes a large-scale randomized controlled trial in which one treatment group was given the option to opt-in to time-varying pricing while another was defaulted into the program but allowed to opt-out. This provides dramatic evidence of a default effect on program participation, consistent with previous research. A novel feature of the study is that it observes how the default manipulation impacts customers’ subsequent electricity consumption.