I currently work at the University of Exeter. My research interests lie in circular economy, life-cycle assessment (LCA) analysis, public health, personnel economics and experimental economics.
Publications
"Single-use Plastic and COVID-19 in the NHS: Barriers and Opportunities" (with Roz Davies, Karyn Morrissey, Richard Smith, Lora E. Fleming, Maria Sharmina, Rebecca St. Clair, Peter Hopkinson), Journal of Public Health Research. 2021. download pdf
Single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) has been essential to protect healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, intensified use of PPE could counteract the previous efforts made by the UK NHS Trusts to reduce their plastic footprint. In this study, we conducted an in-depth case study in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust to investigate plastic-related issues in a typical NHS Trust before, during and after the pandemic. We first collected hospital routine data on both procurement and usage of single-use PPE (including face masks, aprons, and gowns) for the time period between April 2019 and August 2020. We then interviewed 12 hospital staff across a wide remit, from senior managers to consultants, nurses and catering staff, to gather qualitative evidence on the overall impact of COVID-19 on the Trust regarding plastic use. We found that although COVID-19 had increased the procurement and the use of single-use plastic substantially during the pandemic, it did not appear to have changed the focus of the hospital on implementing measures to reduce single-use plastic in the long term. We then discussed the barriers and opportunities to tackle plastic issues within the NHS in the post-COVID world, for example, a circular healthcare model.
“The Carbon Footprint of General Anaesthetics: A Case Study in the UK” (with JM Tom Pierce, Tim Taylor, and Karyn Morrissey), Resources, Conservation & Recycling. 2021. download pdf
The UK National Health Service (NHS) aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. One measure for reaching this target outlined in the NHS long-term plan (2019) is to reduce the carbon footprint of inhalational anaesthetic gases (IAGs). We modelled the synthesis of commonly used IAGs - sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane - in comparison to intravenous propofol and estimated the carbon footprint generated throughout their lifetime, from manufacturing of raw materials to emissions of IAGs vented from operating theatres. We find that the carbon footprint of IAGs varies significantly depending on the method of chemical synthesis. Our results indicate that the carbon footprint of IAGs is minimised when using oxygen/air mix as the carrier gas at the lowest flow rate while applying a vapour capture technology (VCT). In this scenario, the carbon footprint of sevoflurane per minimum alveolar concentration hour is similar to that of propofol, which is a significant finding given that previous studies have favoured propofol as a means of carbon footprint reduction and only the active pharma- ceutical ingredient of propofol was examined. Further, we show that the carbon footprint of sevoflurane used in the NHS during 2018, in the absence of VCTs, is not smaller than that of desflurane if sevoflurane is synthesised from tetrafluoroethylene. Therefore, to reduce the carbon footprint of IAGs, this study supports the continued reduction in the use of nitrous oxide and recommends a wider adoption of VCTs.
"Dynamic Incentive Effects of Assignment Mechanisms: Experimental Evidence" (with Thomas Gall and Michael Vlassopoulos), J Econ Manage Strat. 2019; 1–26. download pdf
Optimal assignment and matching mechanisms have been the focus of exhaustive analysis. We focus on their dynamic effects, which have received less attention, especially in the empirical literature: Anticipating that assignment is based on prior performance may affect prior performance. We test this hypothesis in a lab experiment. Participants first perform a task individually without monetary incentives; in a second stage, they are paired with another participant according to a pre-announced assignment policy. The assignment is based on the first-stage performance, and compensation is determined by average performance. Our results are largely consistent with a theory: Pairing the worst-performing individuals with the best yields 20% lower first-stage effort than random matching (RAM) and does not induce truthful revelation of types, which undoes any policy that aims to reallocate types based on performance. Perhaps surprisingly, however, pairing the best with the best yields only 5% higher first-stage effort than RAM and the difference is not statistically significant.
Working Papers
"Subjective Performance Evaluation in a Multi-tasking Environment: a Firm-level Experiment in China" (with Thomas Gall and Michael Vlassopoulos) download pdf
We examine a multitasking problem where one task is to produce private goods while the other is to create public goods which is hard to measure. Such problems can be found in organisations that make use of multitasking leaders. Group leaders take responsibility for organising teams (public goods) and contribute as a member (private goods). Presenting evidence from a natural field experiment, we shed light on the impact of a high-powered remuneration system regarding leaders’ organisa- tional behaviours. In particular, we designed a monitoring system which subjectively evaluates leaders’ organisational inputs, and we offered each leader a new bonus scheme that is depending on her relative performance in organising teams among other group leaders within the factory. Using individual daily production records, we find an overall 6% increase in workers’ productivity, excluding the leaders. In line with our theoretical model, strengthening incentives on organising teams does not necessarily have a negative impact on leaders’ production performance. We show that leaders’ production performances increase as they invest more time on the job.
This paper studies both non-monetary and monetary determinants of mentoring relationships between managers and employees in British firms by using data from the Workplace Employment Relations Survey. In particular, I focus on the role of a manager's gender and the use of managerial incentive schemes. Past literature suggests a significant association between a manager's gender and mentoring behaviour. However, using longitudinal data this paper finds that the significant relationship disappears once firm fixed effects are included. The results also show a positive but weak association between managerial incentive schemes and managers' mentoring behaviour. Widespread mentorships are more likely to be found in firms where managers' payments are linked to organisational profits.
"Conflict and Choice of Study at University Level: Evidence from Pakistan" (with Abbas Gillani)
Blog Article
"Single use plastic in healthcare must not become the new normal" (with Peter Hopkinson, Richard Smith, Lora E. Fleming, Karyn Morrissey), The BMJ Opinion. 2021. link to article