Essays on emerging technologies and sustainability
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Abstract
This dissertation investigates how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and decentralized platforms both address and generate new sustainability challenges across environmental, social, and governance dimensions. In the first chapter, I investigate how the rapid adoption of AI-driven pricing agents affects the sustainability of tacit collusion in markets. We show that collusion is fragile under the heterogeneity typical of real deployments: differences in agent patience, data access, number of competitors, and algorithmic diversity all significantly weaken collusion, while model-size differences paradoxically stabilize it through emergent leader-follower dynamics. These findings highlight agent heterogeneity as a critical factor shaping competitive dynamics, providing policymakers with actionable levers to mitigate collusion risks. In the second chapter, I examine how decentralized consortia for certifying green products impact firms' sustainability incentives. We show that while joining a consortium increases firm profits by unlocking the green premium, it can paradoxically reduce firms' sustainability efforts when consumer willingness to pay for green products is relatively low, ultimately harming consumer surplus and social welfare. In the final chapter, I examine the impact of blockchain technology on financial inclusion in developing countries. Exploiting the implementation of a blockchain-based lending protocol by the prosocial lending platform Kiva in Sierra Leone, we find that borrowers attract more guarantors and are more likely to be funded, while microfinance institutions experience lower portfolio risks and improved operational sustainability. These positive impacts are most pronounced for traditionally underserved borrowers, including rural populations and individuals with weaker financial credit records.
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2026