Jennifer Baka
Miracle Crop or Miraculous Flop? Evaluating the Socio-economic Impacts of Jatropha BiofuelDegrees
MPP, Richard & Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley;
BS, Economics, The George Washington University
About
It is uncertain whether biofuel production will lead to more resilient or more vulnerable rural livelihoods across the global south. Using Jatropha biofuel production in India and Brazil as case studies, I am researching how Jatropha impacts agrarian communities in order to more critically examine what role, if any, biofuels can play in meeting society’s future energy needs.
Prior to FES, I earned a Master’s in Public Policy from the Richard & Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley and an undergraduate degree in economics from The George Washington University. Prior to returning to graduate school, I worked as an economic consultant in Washington, DC examining the impacts of electricity market deregulation in the US.