Professional Affiliation

Professor, School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan

Expert Bio

Pamela Jagger, an applied political economist, specializes in poverty-environment dynamics in low-income countries. A Professor at the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability, Jagger holds a courtesy appointment at the Gerald Ford School of Public Policy. She is an International Associate with the Environment for Development Initiative where she serves on the Research Committee and contributes to the Women in Environmental Economics for Development Initiative. Her research spans three topics: poverty-environment dynamics; energy access; and environmental governance. Contributing new knowledge on the effectiveness of programs and policies for improving environment outcomes and human well-being is a major focus of her work. She has worked as a policy research scholar with the World Bank, Resources for the Future, the International Food Policy Research Institute, and the Center for International Forestry Research. She has lived and worked in Malawi, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, and conducted research throughout Africa and Asia.

Expertise

• Energy
• Environment
• Food and Agriculture
• Global Health
• Governance
• International Development
• Migration
• Population

Wilson Center Project

Weathering Africa’s Climate Traps

Project Summary

Climate change profoundly and disproportionately affects human well-being in low-income countries, stagnating or reversing progress on poverty reduction and compromising peace and security. A climate trap is a situation where an individual, community, or region becomes trapped in a cycle of environmental degradation and climate vulnerability. Climate traps affect poverty dynamics and may exacerbate poverty traps or situations where people or communities lack access to resources, funds, and opportunities. Poverty traps and climate traps are hypothesized to be reciprocal and mutually exacerbating. Coping strategies, actions, and decisions may be heavily influenced by the implementation of social protection, climate and disaster risk reduction, disaster response policies, and social institutions. This project will develop explore the development of theoretical and empirical research and a policy engagement strategy that advances our understanding of the design, implementation, scale-up, and impact of poverty reduction policies related to improving well-being for populations living in climate traps.

Major Publications

• Jagger, P., J. Zavaleta Cheek, D.C. Miller, C. Ryan, P. Shyamsundar, and E.O. Sills. 2022. The Role of Forests and Trees in Poverty Dynamics. Forest Policy and Economics 140:102750.
• Aung, T., P. Jagger, K.T. Hlaing, K.K. Han and W. Kobayashi. 2022. City Living but Still Energy Poor? Household Energy Transitions under Rapid Urbanization in Myanmar. Energy Research and Social Science. 85:102432.
• Call, M., C. Gray, and P. Jagger. 2019. Smallholder Livelihood Responses to Climate Anomalies in Rural Uganda. World Development. 115:132-144.