Iván Jomin Kim Taveras

I am a development and environmental economist specializing in climate adaptation. My dissertation investigates the human consequences of climate change and the limits of climate adaptation in the developing world, shedding light on how vulnerable populations respond to subtle, yet critical, environmental shifts. It contributes to our understanding of how two understudied climatic changes—shifts in the timing of the rainy season and ocean acidification—impact agricultural productivity, household welfare, and maternal and child health. I study these issues by applying causal inference methods to large-scale observational data, combining household survey data with high-resolution climate and oceanographic information. I am currently on the job market.

I am on the 2025-2025 academic job market.

JOB MARKET PAPER

Shifting Seasons: Agricultural Adaptation and Resilience in Africa

Climate risk threatens Sub-Saharan Africa's rain-fed agriculture. Using micro-data from six countries, I show that a one-week delay in the onset of the rainy season reduces yields by 2% and consumption by 1%. Damages disproportionately harm the most vulnerable, with the effects being most pronounced on female-managed plots, while education and wealth build resilience. Farmers adapt by delaying planting, but this is insufficient due to informational frictions. False onsets—misleading early rains followed by a dry spell—trigger premature planting, increasing damages. The negative impacts are concentrated in locations experiencing long-term climatic shifts, indicating a persistent failure to adapt. Projecting these damages forward reveals a substantial threat: cumulative discounted losses from 2025 to 2050 could reach up to 10% of the real GDP of 2024. These findings establish shifts in seasonal timing as a first-order economic threat and highlight the value of short-range forecasts in mitigating this risk.
 

WORKING PAPERS

• Kim Taveras, Iván. "Shifting Seasons: Agricultural Adaptation and Resilience in Africa."
• Armand, A. and I. Kim Taveras. "From Sea to Shore: The Impact of Ocean Acidification on Child Health." Conditionally accepted at the Journal of the European Economic Association.
• Abbritti, M., I Kim Taveras, and T. Trani. "Trade Relationships, Bargaining and Export Dynamics."