Submitted by Ethan A. LIGON on

Project Description: 

Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. These can affect households and communities through destruction of property and infrastructure, through effects on health and livelihoods, but also potentially through psychological trauma. These effects might be most severe for poor farm households in low-income countries which depend on agriculture for their livelihood and are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events. This project analyzes the impacts of major flooding in 2012 over time on individuals and households in Nigeria, using household survey data from 2010-2019. 

We are interested in studying impacts on household and individual livelihood and labor supply decisions, and on how these vary over time after exposure to flooding. We then explore whether these impacts vary by household and individual characteristics, such as differences by individual sex and by pre-flooding engagement in different work activities.

Results of this study will help inform government policies to strengthen economic resilience and livelihoods of the poor in the face of climate change and weather-related disasters. To promote policy relevance in Nigeria we are in communication with the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency and Nigeria Emergency Management Agency to create channels for dissemination.

Students will work under the supervision of ARE PhD candidate Pierre Biscaye on this project.

Department: 
ARE
Undergraduate's Role: 

The undergraduate researcher(s) will work on cleaning and analysis of household survey data. Specific tasks will include:

  1. Cleaning, summarizing, and visualizing the survey data
  2. Conducting preliminary analyses with the cleaned survey data
  3. Summarizing and reporting findings
  4. Drafting text for preliminary reports
  5. Conducting literature reviews

The analysis will contribute to the preparation of a research brief to be disseminated to funders and research partners, and of an academic paper for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.

Undergraduate's Qualifications: 

Strong candidates will have the following qualifications:

  1. Excellent communication skills
  2. High level of attention to detail
  3. Ability to troubleshoot tasks and identify potential solutions
  4. Completed courses in econometrics and/or data analysis
  5. Experience doing statistical analysis (in Stata, R, or Python)
  6. Experience working with household survey data or other publicly available datasets is desired but not required
  7. Interest in issues in development economics, environmental economics, labor economics, and/or climate change
Location: 
On Campus
Hours: 
6-9 hours