– It feels great to finally reach this stage after a long journey. The PhD process has been an enriching experience with lots of ups and downs. The process takes you through different stages. The first years of coursework were intense and then moving to thesis writing also brought different challenges. The best part is you get to broaden your knowledge and acquire important skills.
How have you prepared yourself for the defense?
– I have tried to prepare in the best possible way to convey the main message of my thesis. It is both an exciting time to look forward to but at the same time, I am also a bit nervous about how things will go. What I know for sure is I will be glad when it is over.
How have you chosen your subjects for your thesis?
– One of the most interesting but also challenging part of the thesis writing has been choosing the research questions. I really wanted to focus on environmental and behavioral topics and that was what I ended up doing. Some of the research projects came up from brainstorming with my co-authors and others from observing current changes in the policy arena that are believed to have important consequences. The process was never easy. You want to come up with interesting research that contributes to the literature and is policy-relevant, and at the same time, that it is feasible to implement.
What results in your thesis have surprised you the most?
– In many developing countries, the passenger transport sector is dominated by second-hand vehicles. This is creating enormous environmental, health, and economic challenges. In one of my chapters, I investigate the effectiveness of vehicle excise tax change in Ethiopia in encouraging individuals to adopt fuel-efficient vehicles. The results from the analysis show that the tax policy adjustment was very effective in incentivizing individuals to adopt newer vehicles. This is very interesting and of important implication that market-based instruments such as taxes can play a crucial role in encouraging pro-environmental behavior in developing countries.
What will you do next?
– Next, I will be rejoining my home institute in Ethiopia – Policy Studies Institute. The focus is to make use of the tools and skills I obtained during my PhD and undertake relevant research projects that contribute to policymaking.
