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Public Policy

Using high-resolution satellite imagery and advanced big data analysis tools, Professor Jennifer Burney is turning to the trees to gauge the health of semi-arid ecosystems, which are home to the world’s poorest populations and among the areas most affected by climate change. Prototyping this assessment tool in Sertão, Brazil, she develops tree density maps for specific regions that can then be “ground-truthed” and linked to farm-level management data. The goal is to use this novel technique across the world’s semi-arid regions to provide high-resolution indicators of overall ecosystem health.

Faculty and Research

Related Faculty

  • John Ahlquist

    John Ahlquist

    Professor; Director, Pacific Leadership Fellows Program

    Research Fields: political economy, comparative politics, labor market institutions, income inequality, international trade

  • Roger Bohn

    Roger Bohn

    Professor Emeritus

    Research Fields: high-tech and international manufacturing, electronics and data storage industry, product development, organizational management

  • Jennifer Burney

    Jennifer Burney

    Professor; Marshall Saunders Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Global Climate Policy and Research

    Research Fields: climate impacts and adaptation, food-energy-water systems, food and nutrition security, land use, economic development

  • Michael Davidson

    Michael Davidson

    Assistant Professor

    Research Fields: China, electricity markets, energy policy, climate change policy

  • Jesse Driscoll

    Jesse Driscoll

    Associate Professor; Chair, Global Leadership Institute

    Research Fields: comparative politics, international relations, civil war, voting, Central Asia
  • Francisco Garfias

    Francisco Garfias

    Associate Professor

    Research Fields: comparative political economy, state capacity, taxation, social conflict, Latin American politics, Mexican politics, econometrics

  • Teevrat Garg

    Teevrat Garg

    Associate Professor

    Research Fields: environmental economics, development economics, decarbonization, South and Southeast Asia

  • Alexander Gelber

    Alexander Gelber

    Associate Professor

    Research Fields: public finance, particularly issues relating to taxation and social insurance

  • Joshua Graff Zivin

    Joshua Graff Zivin

    Professor; Pacific Economic Cooperation Chair in International Economic Relations; Director, Peter F. Cowhey Center on Global Transformation

    Research Fields: environmental, public health, development, innovation economics

  • Emilie Hafner-Burton

    Emilie Hafner-Burton

    Professor; Research Director, Future of Democracy (IGCC); Director, Laboratory on International Law and Regulation

    Research Fields: international law and regulation, human rights, election violence, trade and investment, behavioral economics, political psychology, and social networks

  • Zoltan L. Hajnal

    Zoltan L. Hajnal

    Professor

    Research Fields: racial and ethnic politics, urban politics, immigration, election administration, voting rights, American politics, political behavior

  • Ruixue Jia

    Ruixue Jia

    Associate Professor

    Research Fields: China, development economics, economic history, political economy

  • Munseob Lee

    Munseob Lee

    Assistant Professor; Director, Korea-Pacific Program

    Research Fields: macroeconomics, economic growth, development economics, Korean economy

  • Gordon McCord

    Gordon McCord

    Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Dean

    Research Fields: development economics, public health, environment

  • Craig McIntosh

    Craig McIntosh

    Professor; Co-director, Policy Design and Evaluation Lab

    Research Fields: development economics, agricultural and resource economics, program evaluation, microeconomics, anti-poverty policies

  • Barry Naughton

    Barry Naughton

    So Kwan Lok Chair of Chinese International Affairs

    Research Fields: Chinese economy, foreign trade and investment, economic reform 

  •  Agustina Paglayan

    Agustina Paglayan

    Assistant Professor

    Research Fields: political economy, comparative politics, education systems, labor market institutions, state capacity, applied econometrics, historical research methods, politics of policymaking in Latin America and the U.S.

  • Lauren Prather

    Lauren Prather

    Associate Professor

    Research Fields: foreign policy, migration, democracy promotion and democratization, Middle East

  • Nico Ravanilla

    Nico Ravanilla

    Associate Professor

    Research Fields: comparative politics, public policy, governance, Southeast Asia

  • Kate Ricke

    Kate Ricke

    Associate Professor; Edward A. Frieman Endowed Presidential Chair in Climate Sustainability

    Research Fields: climate change, public policy

  • Krislert Samphantharak

    Krislert Samphantharak

    Professor

    Research Fields: corporate finance, economic development, family businesses, business groups in East and Southeast Asia, financial institutions in village economies, Thailand

  • Weiyi Shi

    Weiyi Shi

    Assistant Professor

    Research Fields: China, political economy, foreign policy

  • Victor Shih

    Victor Shih

    Professor of Political Science; Director, 21st Century China Center; Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations

    Research Fields: China, political economy, Chinese banking policies, Chinese politics

  • David Victor

    David Victor

    Professor; Peter Cowhey Center on Global Transformation Chair in Innovation and Public Policy; Director, Deep Decarbonization Initiative

    Research Fields: human rights, international law, energy policy, climate change policy

  • Barbara F. Walter

    Barbara F. Walter

    Professor; Rohr Chair in Pacific International Relations

    Research Fields: international security, civil wars, terrorism/counter-terrorism

Related Research Centers and Programs

  • Big Pixel Initiative

    Big Pixel Initiative

    Designing research methods for scalable satellite image ingestion, processing, computing and visualization for the next generation of global change research in geospatial big data. This initiative at UC San Diego is co-led by GPS Professor Gordon Hanson.
  • Peter F. Cowhey Center on Global Transformation

    Peter F. Cowhey Center on Global Transformation

    Examining central questions about economic growth, equality and market change in the Pacific, this center brings together the worlds of academic inquiry and policy analysis.
  • Policy Design and Evaluation Lab

    Policy Design and Evaluation Lab

    Combining advanced social science methodology with the power of information technology, this lab designs policies and programs that alleviate poverty; promote health, welfare and security; and enhance accountability.