Philippe Colo 

I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Oeschger Center for Climate Research at the University of Bern and an associate researcher to the Chair of Integrative Risk Management and Economics at ETH Zurich. Here is a short (non-academic) article about my current research at the OCCR.

I obtained a PhD in Economics in July 2021 from the Paris School of Economics and I hold a MSc in economics from ENSAE and MSc in philosophy from Université Paris I. 

As an economist, I consider myself as an applied theorist. I use game theory, decision theory and experimental methods to study practical questions, such as scientific communication, climate change mitigation or educational practices. 

As a philosopher I'm interested in recent debates in epistemology, including philosophy of testimony, pragmatic and moral encroachment. I believe these concepts are central to tackle some of the most important issues caused by climate change. I'm also interesed in philosophy of science, where I study the different modelling approaches to the concept of Social Tipping Points.

I find a lot of inspiration for my research in philosophy of science and epistemology. This is because I believe that understanding agents’ underlying justification for given beliefs is crucial to assess their behaviour. This is true when studying climate-related behaviours, acceptance of new technologies such as mRNA vaccines or gendered teaching practices. In my work, I rely on the rich philosophical conceptual toolbox to build interesting economic analysis.