Faculty by courtesy

Pamela Jagger

Professor of Environment and Sustainability; Professor of Public Policy (by courtesy)

Pam Jagger is a professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability, with a courtesy appointment at the Ford School. She is an applied political economist whose research focuses on the dynamics of poverty and environment interactions in low-income countries. She leads the interdisciplinary Forest Use, Energy, and Livelihoods (FUEL) Lab, and is the Director of the National Science Foundation funded Energy Poverty PIRE in Southern Africa (EPPSA), a 5-year collaborative program to support research and training on the topic of energy access in Southern Africa. FUEL Lab research is organized around three themes. The first theme focuses on quantifying the role of forest and environmental resources in household consumption and income generation, and understanding how contributions change in response to land use land cover change, implementation of conservation and development projects, and population dynamics. The second theme examines the livelihood impacts of changes in environmental governance and institutions on access to environmental goods and services. The third theme examines household energy access including understanding the effectiveness of interventions designed to mitigate energy poverty. Dr. Jagger 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. 

Educational background

  • PhD in public policy, Indiana University
  • MS in forest economics, University of Alberta

Current research

  • Poverty and environment dynamics
  • Energy access
  • Environmental governance