Dr. Malgosia Madajewicz

Associate Research Scientist, Center for Climate Systems Research (CCSR), Columbia Climate School

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Climate, Undergraduate Special Concentration and Major in Sustainable Development

2880 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
USA

BIOGRAPHY:

Malgosia Madajewicz is an economist with expertise in adaptation to climate change, management of climate risks, program evaluation, and microeconomics with a focus on economic development. She has particular expertise in quantitative data analysis. She conducts research on three broad themes. One of her main current projects is investigating how individuals and communities decide whether or not to take action to adapt in the context of coastal flooding in urban areas, focusing in particular on New York City. The project is testing how effectively co-developing an understanding of risk and costs and benefits of adaptations with residents of coastal areas motivates adaptation relative to simpler, less expensive approaches. The project will also examine how adaptation behavior diffuses within a community. A second research theme is assessing the socio-economic value of climate information. The third research interest is in how institutions shape decision-making about adaptation as well as about development in contexts such as expanding provision of public goods and reducing poverty. Recent projects have investigated determinants of social vulnerability and resilience to flooding in urban areas, impacts of climate information on livelihoods in the coffee sector in Jamaica, the effectiveness of climate risk management strategies among smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, and how information affects fertilizer use and yields in Tanzania. She has collaborated on developing an approach to evaluating national climate information services in Africa. Dr. Madajewicz is a member of the research team that comprises the Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN), which is a NOAA-funded RISA (Regional Integrated Science and Assessment). She is responsible for evaluating the impacts that CCRUN achieves through the team’s collaborative development of climate information with stakeholders. She is currently serving on the Westchester County Climate Task Force. She has been as an external member on the Community-Based Adaptation working group of the New York City Panel on Climate Change and has participated in a number of other task forces concerned with adaptation. She holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University and has previously served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

PROJECTS

Only select projects listed below
Name Start Date End Date
Building resilience to storm surges and sea level rise: A comparative study of coastal zones in New York City and Boston 8/1/12 7/31/15
Global, Local, Coastal: Preparing the Next Generation for a Changing Planet 9/1/15 6/30/19
Managing climate risks to smallholder agriculture in northern Ethiopia: Second phase of evaluation of the R4 program
Supporting Regional Implementation of Integrated Climate Resilience: Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast (CCRUN) 9/1/15 8/31/21
The Role of Social Features in Urban Neighborhoods in Resilience to Flooding 7/9/14 7/8/16
Vulnerability of the U.S. Atlantic coast to hazards associated with extreme weather storms 1/16/14 1/15/18
Enabling Urban Residents to Adapt to Coastal Flooding: Evidence from New York City Neighborhoods 9/1/19 8/31/21
Grenada Readiness and Preparatory Support Proposal to the Green Climate Fund 2/17/20 4/17/20
Impacts of Climate Change on Olympic Host Cities: Rapid Extreme Heat Assessment 6/15/20 8/15/20
RSFO - CCRUN - Resilience of small and medium businesses in coastal communities in the New York - New Jersey metropolitan region 4/12/21 8/31/21
Co-developing a Decision Support Framework for Adaptation to Coastal Flooding: A Comparative Case Study of Communities in New York and Virginia 9/1/23 8/31/26
Assessing Pluvial-Coastal Flood Risk and Potential Climate Inequities in New York City 9/1/23 8/31/25
NYC Town+Gown: Climate Vulnerability, Impact, and Adaptation Analysis 8/1/22 1/31/24
Secondary School Field Research Program: Engaging NYC Students in Local Field Research 7/1/19 6/30/20