Endowment for Sustainable Development

The SES Endowment for Sustainable Development (ESD) supports the Distinguished Professorship for Sustainable Development, and  provides funding for research and merit-based grants and awards to support and recognize outstanding research relating to global sustainability and sustainable development.

The purpose of the endowment fund is to support high quality teaching and scholarly work on the economics of sustainable development. Supported efforts are expected to contribute effectively to the strategic goals of the School of Economic Sciences. Within  this goal, the ESD program supports scholarship on sustainability broadly, encompassing any dimension of inquiry relating to the sustainability of human well-being and equity in a global context. 

The ESD program provides fellowship opportunities for graduate students to support research projects consistent with the ESD mission and various other forms of support for SES student activities focusing on Sustainable Development

News

Abstracts below!

Sustainable development is not a fixed state of harmony, but rather a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are made consistent with future as well as present needs.

— Brundtland Commission, 1987. Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (pdf).

The only reason for thinking that sustainability is a problem is that you think that some people are likely to be short-changed, namely in the future. Then I think you are really obligated to ask, “Well, is anybody being short-changed right now?

— Robert Solow, Nobel Laureate; Sustainability: An Economist’s Perspective. 1991.

ESD Fellowships: Past Projects

ESD fellowships are available for SES Ph.D. Students in the summer months. The work of past fellowship award winners is highlighted below

Summer 2025

The Impact of the 2015 Nepal Earthquake on Maternal
Health Outcomes and Reproductive Health Services

The 2015 Nepal earthquake exposed critical vulnerabilities in maternal health systems, disrupting essential services in some of the country’s most severely affected districts. This study provides the quasi-experimental analysis of disaster impacts on maternal healthcare, using four waves of Demographic and Health Survey (2006 – 2022) data and a difference-in-differences design comparing 13 highly affected districts with 22 control districts focusing on antenatal care (ANC), delivery, and postnatal services. Findings show substantial declines in evidence-based care in affected areas. Women in treatment districts were 2.6 percentage points less likely to complete four or more ANC visits, and blood sample collection, a critical diagnostic service, dropped by 17.6 percentage points. Skilled prenatal care fell by 14.4 points, while skilled birth attendance declined by 21.9 points, indicating that workforce displacement, rather than facility access, drove disruptions. Despite stable institutional delivery rates, the quality of services deteriorated, reflecting supply-chain breakdowns and reduced provider availability. Postnatal care indicators showed no significant differential impacts, suggesting partial resilience at this stage. These results show that supply-side disruptions particularly workforce loss and service quality gaps are central pathways through which disasters affect maternal care. Finally, they underscore urgent policy priorities: strengthening workforce surge capacity and integrating disaster resilience into maternal health systems. The Nepal case underscores the need for proactive investments to protect maternal survival in disaster-prone settings.

Report on the Economic Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases on Peru’s Indigenous Households

I examined the economic burden of non-communicable diseases on Indigenous households in Peru. The main finding is that Peru has virtually no data on the economic burden of non-communicable diseases specifically affecting its 7 million indigenous people (20% of the population), despite NCDs now causing 73% of national deaths. Indigenous populations face more barriers than non indigenous. Only 46% of Amazonian indigenous communities are within one hour of health facilities; 15% are eight+ hours away by river. Transportation to health facilities from Asháninka communities’ costs 80 soles ($25 USD) round trip, equivalent to half a month’s salary according to community members interviewed in qualitative studies. Sixty-one percent of communities completely lack facilities; where they exist, 52% have no medical professionals and endemic medication shortages force private purchases. In terms of Cultural and linguistic barriers, even there is 48 indigenous languages, the health centers operate in Spanish only. Evidence suggests economic impacts from indirect costs. Health disparities are present too. Amazonian indigenous women experience cervical cancer mortality 86% higher than national averages (26.3 vs 14.2 per 100,000). The analysis reveals that there is 99% of health coverage yet 70% of indigenous individuals declare cannot access needed care. Traditional medicine use reaches 83% in some populations but integration with biomedical care remains unstudied. This evidence base motivates my research to quantify causal relationships between NCD expenditures and household economic burden among Indigenous populations.

Summer 2024

Nabbitu Nahar

Water for Women: Impact of Access to Piped Water on Women’s Time Allocation for Sustainable Development

Access to improved water sources is crucial in developing countries, where billions of hours are spent annually on water collection, primarily by women and girls. This study examines whether enhanced water infrastructure, such as piped water, influences women’s labor force participation in urban Kenya by reducing water collection time. Leveraging household data from 12 Kenyan cities, collected in 2023, we analyze how improved water access impacts women’s time allocation for income-generating activities. Employing empirical methods from Chen (2019) and Koolwal & Van de Walle (2013), we assess how reduced water collection time affects women’s engagement in market, non-market, or leisure activities. The findings will shed light on how varying water collection conditions influence time allocation among women and girls, informing policymakers on sustainable resource allocation for water infrastructure in developing contexts. [Keywords: improved water infrastructure, labor force participation, time allocation, women’s empowerment, developing countries]

Qingwei Qiao

Identification and Estimation of Network Spillovers in Sustainable Social Program

Network spillovers, which arise when one individual’s actions indirectly influence others through peer interactions, are prevalent in sustainable development policies and programs. In developing countries, social networks play a crucial role in effectively implementing social and health programs by serving as channels for disseminating information, reinforcing positive behavioral change, and building community support. Utilizing network data from two randomized control trials on household-level and village-level nutrition projects in Madagascar and Niger, I develop dynamic network and machine learning models to examine social network influences on child feeding behaviors. This methodology allows us to extrapolate network structures where explicit connections are absent or inadequately documented, thus overcoming the limitations of sparse data. The compelling evidence of dynamic network effects—particularly the larger coefficients associated with strong, mutual connections—indicates that fostering interactive and supportive community environments is likely to yield superior results. For those families who have stronger social ties, the child’s dietary diversity, height-for-age Z score, and weight-for-height Z score can increase by 1.1 percentage. Therefore, policymakers are encouraged to consider the dynamic interplay of relationships within social networks when designing and evaluating health and sustainable economic development interventions, as this approach aligns more closely with real-world social structures and behaviors. Such dynamic considerations are crucial for developing effective public health strategies that are better aligned with the complexities of community interactions and contribute to long-term sustainable economic growth.


Mengshan Zhao

The Effects of a Psychological Support Intervention for Mothers on Children’s Nutrition, Maternal Well-being, and Cognitive Function in Nigeria

Maternal mental health is a serious yet neglected problem in developing countries, posing threats to maternal and child health and well-being. It is directly linked to sustainable development, as it influences not only mothers’ own socioeconomic empowerment but also parental investment and caregiving/child-feeding capacity, and bearing intergenerational consequences. However, its impact on caregivers of young children remains underexplored. This summer, I worked on launching and managing a randomized control trial (RCT) study investigating the effects of a psychological support program on maternal and child well-being in Gombe state, Nigeria, in collaboration with Prof. Park and Taimaka, a Nigerian NGO. We started the implementation of the Problem Management Plus (PM+) intervention, targeting mothers at mild emotional distress risk with children under five participating in Taimaka’s Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition program. As of August 12, 2024, the intervention reached 132 caregivers, with additional 112 surveyed as control. I managed the baseline survey data which commenced in March and is still ongoing, and includes questions on child nutrition and health, maternal well-being, and empowerment. Using baseline data, I produced summary statistics and correlational analysis which informed endline survey design. Going forward, the endline survey will begin in September, which will include laboratory experiments to measure behavioral outcomes such as intra-household altruism, attention, cognitive abilities, and self-confidence. We will use machine learning models to analyze these outcomes’ contributions to children’s nutrition. My responsibilities will continue to encompass designing and supervising the survey, data management, analysis, paper drafting, and leading the behavioral experiments.

Summer 2023

Dipanwita Barai

Market Conditions & Inventories Impact on Drilled but Uncompleted Oil Wells

The United States experienced a 203.7% increase in Drilled but Uncompleted Oil Wells (DUCs) 2019 compared to 2013. This DUCs growth deserves attention because they impose environmental damage via methane-gas leakage, which cause health hazards, groundwater and soil contamination, and even geological explosions, but do not contribute to economic development as oil-producing wells. This study develops a theoretical and empirical model to examine the the factors contributing to DUCs growth. We use Autoregressive Dynamic Lag Models as an empirical strategy for time series analysis to capture the dynamic nature of their development. Preliminary results suggest that previous years’ DUC status and natural gas production changes have a positive relationship with current DUC status, whereas oil price has a negative effect on DUCs. Furthermore, economic variables have heterogeneous effects on regional-level DUCs. For example, previous years’ DUCs are positively associated with this year’s DUCs in all the regions except Appalachia, where oil price growth reduces DUCs in all regions except Eagle Ford, Bakken, and Anadarko. The findings also indicate that oil well drilling and production costs play a large role in some regions, such as Eagle Ford, Appalachia, and Bakken. This study can help policymakers better understand the impact of market conditions and inventories on DUCs, which ultimately can help to manage the oil and gas industry, environmental pollution, and attain sustainable economic development.

Ilhoon Choi

Sustainable regional development in an era of automation

Technology adoption and automation in production systems have led to a profound industrial transformation in the U.S. A recent study by Acemoglu and Restrepo (2022) found that automation displaced low-skilled workers who specialize in routine tasks and reduced their relative wages, whereas workers with post-graduate degrees experienced a wage gain, contributing to the increased wage inequality in the U.S. between 1980 and 2016. On the other hand, a paper by Graetz and Michaels (2018) documents that increased robot usage in industries boosts annual labor productivity growth and total factor productivity by using the robot adoption data set in seventeen countries. To better understand the effect of automation on labor market outcomes and to design public policies for sustainable development to mitigate the adverse effects of automation, I set out a research project to account for the effects of automation. I find that the employment share of routine workers—those performing mostly routine tasks—dropped by 5 percentage points between 1999 and 2019, whereas the employment share of abstract workers—those performing mostly abstract tasks—increased by 1.5 percentage points. Furthermore, the average hourly wage of routine workers decreased relative to that of abstract workers from 66% to 59% in the same period. To account for the main drivers of automation, I build a task-based model and find that the main driver of automation is the fall in the relative price of capital equipment capable of doing the same work as people. The second is the increase in the scope of capital equipment which expanded the type of tasks it can perform. Lastly, I find that increases in the minimum wage contributed to automation. In particular, increases in the minimum wage reduce the employment of routine workers, suggesting that hikes in the minimum wage expedite automation in the economy.

Summer 2022

Sita Khanal.

Sita Khanal

The impact of oil and gas flaring on crop yields: Does reduced flaring help in economic development and sustainability?

Agricultural productivity is crucial for economic development, where efforts are being made for sustainable development with the objective to provide sufficient food with minimal decline or increase in the natural resource base. Recently, concerns are arising if there are any other external factors besides regular environmental factors such as emissions, coming from recent commercial activities, have any impact on sustainable development. Flaring of oil and gas wells is one of the recent commercial activities in agricultural states, which might have negative impacts on crop yields. Emissions from flaring consist of several toxic chemical components that negatively impact the physiological functions of plants, thus reducing crop yield. This study contributes to the literature by accurately identifying the causal impact of total flaring activity and resulting emissions on crop yields using historical flaring and crop production data from the U.S. and other developing nations such as the Philippines, India, and Indonesia. The work for the U.S. has been completed employing the method of difference in differences leveraging the timing differences in flaring policy across the states. Preliminary results show that a 1 % increase in flaring causally decreases the corn and soybean yields by 0.015% and 0.00108%, respectively. Because the yield improvement from reduced flaring is significant, it supports climate change policies to further reduce air pollution, thus enhancing sustainable farming, ecosystem, and earth health. These results also support the notion that reduced air pollution from flaring aids economic and sustainable development goals by increasing farming efficiency and yields.
Imisi Aiyetan.

Imisi Aiyetan

Female leadership, Environmental Responsibility and Pollution levels: Do female top managers help to reduce firm pollution levels?

Corporations are increasingly claiming to be investing in reducing their corporate carbon footprint due to high demand by firm stakeholders for environmental responsibility. Recent research has found that managerial gender diversity can affect strategies and practices relating to environmental footprints. This study contributes to this literature by examining how female corporate leadership affects firms’ carbon emissions. Using a causal inference approach, I investigate the impact of female leadership on firms’ pollution levels and determine if corporate environmental responsibility explains the channel through which top manager gender affects firm pollution levels. I use World Bank Enterprise Survey data for firms from 41 countries across three world bank regions (i.e., East Asia and Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and Europe and Central Asia). The results from the preliminary econometric analysis show that an increase in the likelihood of having a female top manager is correlated with a decrease in pollution, suggesting that the female corporate management affect environmental actions that lead to pollution reduction.

Summer 2021

Reetwika Basu .

Reetwika Basu

The General Equilibrium Model for Agent-Based Modeling for Water Use, Allocation, and Transactions in Watersheds

Sustainable use and allocation of water is a prime concern in many developing countries round the world. The Punjab region in India is experiencing a permanent water crisis caused from the extent of irrigation and inefficient management of water resources. With the intent of applications pertaining to sustainability, a general equilibrium (GE) model has been developed for agent-based modeling (ABM) for water use, allocation and transaction in watersheds. The model considers a set of farms/agents along a river basin. A set of appropriative transferable water rights is distributed across the farms. They are to buy or sell water on an annual basis and use the water after transaction to grow crops. Assuming the price signals conveyed, acts as a mirror to the scarcity of water during transactions in the informal water market in Punjab, we intend to apply the GE model to simulate efficient and sustainable irrigation decisions.
GC Apar.

GC Apar

The causal impact of ground-level ozone on crop yields: evidence from variations in wind direction

Some controlled experiments have established that ozone has a negative impact on crop yield (e.g., Mills et al. 2007). Some regression-based multivariate studies using historical field-level data have also documented a yield-reducing effect of ozone (e.g., McGrath et al. 2015). However, the controlled lab studies are limited by external validity, and the field level regression studies suffer from endogeneity bias, measurement error, and omitted variable bias. The contribution of this study is to identify the causal impact of ozone on crop yields using wind direction as an instrument for the ozone and weather data from 1999 to 2013 for the U.S. and India. Data for the U.S. has already been collected and I am in the process of collecting Indian data. The IV method follows Deryugina et al. (2019), who use a similar wind direction instrument to identify the effects of pollution on mortality. Preliminary results from the U.S. show that a 1% increase in ground-level ozone decreases the yield of corn and soybean by 0.62% and 0.53%, respectively. These results suggest that emissions reductions in the U.S. have been effective in improving crop yields and highlight the incremental benefits of further reductions. By focusing on how pollution affects crop yields at different levels of pollution in the U.S. as well as in India, the paper also has implications for the benefits of pollution abatement in developing countries with much higher pollution levels than the U.S.
Imisi Aiyetan.

Imisi Aiyetan

Air quality and the Determinants of Socioeconomic Dimensions of Migration: Evidence from US Counties.

Up to date, environmental justice remains an important part of the struggle towards achieving sustainable development. Although the guiding principles of sustainable development affect everyone, it lays special emphasis on the poor, racial and ethnic minorities. Over the past decades, several social scientists have documented how social and economic characteristics are linked to environmental inequities and injustice. They established that a larger population of people of color and low-income earners are likely to reside in disproportionate communities with high environmental risks. Some studies have also shown that minorities are exposed to environmental hazards in wealthy areas in the US. However, recognizing that socioeconomic dimensions of migration and environmental improvement are important components of sustainable development, none of these existing studies have uncovered the determinants of migration in areas with high environmental risks among ethnic and economic groups. Hence, this study fills the gap. To identify these determinants, this study aims to examine the determinants of socioeconomic dimensions of inflow and outflow migration, considering twelve most polluted counties in the US. This study will use panel data for the twelve counties over eight years. In assessing these panel data, I will develop conventional hedonic and discrete choice models. As effective policies affect environmental quality and create sustainable development, the findings from this study will dramatically enhance the understanding of policymakers on the possible policies that address social and economic problems, in addition to policies that improve environmental quality.
Kairon Garcia.

Kairon Garcia

Emissions Savings from Sustainable Power Generation: The Case of Solar Energy

The energy sector is known to be a major contributor of harmful pollutants that include carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOX). With the global push for sustainable development, and technological advancements in the field, many countries, including the Unites States, have observed a growing interest on “greener” and “sustainable” energy sources such as solar power. To date, existing renewable energy studies have measured the environmental gains from using wind power, and examined the impact of overlapping environmental policies on pollution in the United States. However, only little is published on the environmental benefits of solar energy generation, and their interaction with other existing environmental policies. In this paper, I will fill this knowledge gap and estimate the emissions avoided per MWh of solar power produced, geared towards sustainable power generation. Furthermore, I will calculate how emissions change if solar power generation is implemented with existing cap-and-trade programs. Specifically, I will focus on the independent Texas interconnection, located in one of the leading states in terms of the facilitation of renewable energy resources and green technologies. I will adopt the structural approach used by Novan (2017) to build the theoretical and empirical framework by assuming an equal reduction in fossil generation offset by renewable resources. Findings will show how the simultaneous interaction between cap-and-trade programs and unbounded increase in renewable energy capacity impact emissions.