Miranda, Juan Jose

Person:
Miranda, Juan Jose

Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice

Fields of Specialization

Development economics, Environmental economics, Behavioral economics, Urban economics, Climate impacts

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Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice

Last updated: January 31, 2023

Biography

Juan Jose Miranda is an Environmental Economist at the Environmental and Natural Resources Global Practice. He holds a PhD in Economics at Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies with focus on environmental, behavioral and urban economics. He leads analytical work on impact evaluation, conduct policy research and provide analytical economic support on sustainable development issues. Juan Jose is also a Research Associate at Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP), a research think-tank based in Lima – Peru, and an Associate Member at the Seminario Permanente de Investigación Agraria (SEPIA). He has published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, The American Journal of Political Science, American Economic Review (P&P), among others.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 17

Nature-Based Solutions for Improving Resilience in the Caribbean: 360° Resilience Background Paper
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-01) Valero, Sara; Miranda, Juan Jose; Murisic, Maja
Sustainable management of environment and natural resources is essential for the long-term and sustainable growth of key economic sectors, such as fisheries, forestry or tourism, across the Caribbean. In addition to being important generators of GDP and beneficial to the human well-being overall, natural resources also provide a range of ecosystem services that play a critical role in the Caribbean countries’ efforts to reduce disaster risks and adapt to mounting climate change risks. The region is facing a number of challenges in this area, including the climate change impacts, limited access to financing, and narrow fiscal space, among others. Such challenges are being exacerbated by the unprecedented health, economic and social impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. However, with great challenges come great opportunities, including to grow and shift the development pathway into a green recovery, based on the richness of the natural resources and biodiversity that this region possesses.
Mangroves as Coastal Protection for Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-11) Butron, Luigi; Miranda, Juan Jose; Pantoja, Chrissie; Gunasekera, Rashmin
In recent decades, hurricane frequency and intensity have increased in the Caribbean Basin. From 2000 to 2012, more than 100 hurricanes impacted lives, infrastructure, and economic activity along the region’s shorelines. Studies suggest that mangrove forests’ dense root systems might mitigate the impact of hurricanes, which would help stabilize the coastline and prevent erosion from waves and storms. Although many tropical mangroves are found on Caribbean coasts, climatic and anthropogenic events have been clearing these wetland ecosystems at an annual rate of 1 percent since the 1990s. This study quantifies the effects of hurricane windstorms on economic activity using nightlight as a proxy at the highest spatial resolution data available (1 square kilometer). Using different widths of the mangrove belt, it measures levels of mangrove natural protection against the impact of hurricanes and studies the broader socioeconomic and environmental effects of this protection. The results suggest that while major hurricanes reduce nightlight by approximately 2 percent and up to 16 percent in storm surge prone areas, the presence of mangroves on the coast mitigates the impact of hurricanes, reducing nightlight by 1–6 percent.
Mangroves as a Coastal Protection of Local Economic Activities from Hurricanes in the Caribbean: 360° Resilience Background Paper
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-10-01) Gunasekera, Rashmin; Miranda, Juan Jose; Butron, Luigi; Pantoja, Chrissie; Daniell, James; Brand, Johannes
In recent decades, hurricane frequency and intensity have increased in the Caribbean basin. From 2000 to 2012, more than 100 hurricanes impacted lives, infrastructure, gross domestic product, and natural environments along the coastal shorelines. Recent academic references mention that the dense root system of mangrove forests might mitigate the impact of hurricanes, which would help stabilize the coastline and prevents erosion from waves and storms. Many tropical mangroves are found on the coasts of Caribbean islands, unfortunately, these wetland ecosystems have been cleared at a rate of one percent per year since the nineties by climatic and anthropogenic events. Given this critical context, this study quantifies the causal effects hurricane windstorms on local economic activity, using as a proxy nightlights in the Caribbean region at the highest spatial resolution data available (1 square kilometer), and then measure the level of mangrove natural protection against the impact of hurricanes, employing different widths of the mangroves belt, which leads to a broader socio-economic and environmental perspective study. The results suggest that major hurricanes show negative effects of approximately two percent in nightlights and even a greater negative impact of sixteen percent in storm surge prone areas. However, the presence of mangroves on the coast minimizes the impact of hurricanes, shows a reduction of nightlights between one and six percent. The paper contributes to the literature of natural coastal protection against natural disasters by providing robust estimates of the causal effects of major hurricanes windstorms in the Caribbean, producing regional evidence that could improve targeting of environmental policies and disaster risk management toward those most impacted islands.
The Cost of Coastal Zone Degradation in Nigeria: Cross River, Delta and Lagos States
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10) Croitoru, Lelia; Miranda, Juan Jose; Khattabi, Abdellatif; Lee, Jia Jun
Nigeria is Africa’s richest economy. The country has a large population, abundant natural resources, and diverse cultures. Coastal areas are particularly unique: extending along more than 800 km, they are home to rich ecosystems, thriving industries, and booming opportunities. But these areas are also fragile. Every year, floods, erosion, and pollution of air and water have alarming consequences: they cause death, sicken children, and wash away land and houses. The poor bear the brunt. How big is the damage? This report provides a clear answer to this important question. Using a consistent valuation methodology, it estimates the cost of coastal degradation in three Nigerian states: Cross River, Delta and Lagos. The results are striking: in 2018 alone, floods, erosion and pollution in these three states cost society US$9.7 billion, or 2.4 percent of the country’s GDP. As this estimate covers less than a half of the country’s coastline, the total cost of coastal degradation in Nigeria is certainly higher. This report demonstrates the benefits of doing a coordinated study that builds on state and local level analyses. Its findings will inform the country’s multi-sectoral investment plan for the coastal zone, and will support its efforts to mobilize financing for coastal resilience as part of the West Africa Coastal Areas program. Investing in coastal resilience will save lives and prevent future damages. The time is now.
Saving Water with a Nudge (or Two): Evidence from Costa Rica on the Effectiveness and Limits of Low-Cost Behavioral Interventions on Water Use
(Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank, 2020-06) Datta, Saugato; Miranda, Juan Jose; Zoratto, Laura
The study uses a randomized controlled trial to test the impact of simple, inexpensive, and nonpersonalized behavioral interventions (or “nudges”) on water consumption in the context of a developing country. A descriptive social norm intervention using neighborhood comparisons reduces average water consumption in the first two postintervention months by 4.9 percent relative to the control group, while a planning postcard intervention reduces consumption by 4.8 percent. A descriptive social norm intervention using a town-level comparison also reduces water consumption by 3.2 percent, but this effect is not statistically significant. Finally, the study's one-time interventions continue to generate statistically significant reductions in water use for up to four months after they are implemented.
The Cost of Coastal Zone Degradation in West Africa: Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Togo
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03-13) Croitoru, Lelia; Miranda, Juan José; Sarraf, Maria
West Africa’s coastal areas host about one third of the region’s population and generate 56 percent of its GDP. They are home for valuable wetlands, fisheries, oil and gas reserves, and high tourism potential. However, these areas are affected by severe pressures: rapid urbanization along the coast has increased the demands on land, water, and other natural resources; man-made infrastructure and sand extraction have contributed to significant coastal retreat; moreover, climate change and disaster risks are exacerbating these threats. As a result, coastal areas are undergoing alarming environmental degradation leading to deaths (due to floods, air and water pollution), losses of assets (houses, infrastructure) and damages to critical ecosystems (mangroves, marine habitat). This study estimates in monetary terms the Cost of Environmental Degradation (COED) in the coastal areas of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Togo. Specifically,it values the impacts of degradation that occur during one year, as a result of three major factors: flooding, erosion, and pollution (from water, air and waste). The final results are expressed in 2017 prices. They are reflected in absolute (USD) and in relative terms, as percentage of the countries’ GDP. Overall, the COED of the four countries is estimated at aboutUSD 3.8 billion, or 5.3 percent of the countries’ GDP in 2017. Flooding and erosion are the main forms of degradation, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total cost. Moreover, coastal degradation causes over 13,000 deaths a year, primarily due to air and water pollution, and to floods.
Mangroves for Coastal Protection: Evidence from Hurricanes in Central America
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03) Del Valle, Alejandro; Eriksson, Mathilda; Ishizawa, Oscar A.; Miranda, Juan Jose
This paper evaluates whether mangroves can mitigate the impact of hurricanes on economic activity. The paper assembles a new, regionwide panel data set that measures local economic activity using nightlights, potential hurricane damages using a detailed hurricane windstorm model, and mangrove protection by mapping the width of mangrove forests on the path to the coast. The results show that hurricanes have negative short-run effects on economic activity, with losses likely concentrated in coastal lowlands that are exposed to both wind and storm surge hazards. In these coastal lowlands, the estimates show that nightlights decrease by up to 24 percent in areas that are unprotected by mangroves. By comparison, the impact of the hurricanes observed in the sample is fully mitigated in areas protected by mangrove belts of one or more kilometers.
Weathering Storms: Understanding the Impact of Natural Disasters in Central America
(Springer, 2018-05-22) Ishizawa, Oscar A.; Miranda, Juan Jose
In the past decades, natural disasters have caused substantial human and economic losses in Central America, with strong adverse impacts on gross domestic product per capita, income, and poverty reduction. This study provides a regional perspective on the short-term impact of hurricane windstorms on socioeconomic indicators. Apart from modeling the socioeconomic impact at the macro and micro levels, the study incorporates and juxtaposes data from a hurricane windstorm model categorizing three hurricane damage indexes, which lends a higher level of detail, nuance, and therefore accuracy and comprehensiveness to the study. One standard deviation in the intensity of a hurricane windstorm leads to a decrease in growth of total per capita gross domestic product of between 0.9 and 1.6%, and a decrease in total income and labor income by 3%, which in turn increases moderate and extreme poverty by 1.5 percentage points. These results demonstrate the causal relationship between hurricane windstorm impacts and poverty in Central America, producing regional evidence that could improve targeting of disaster risk management policies toward those most impacted and thus whose needs are greatest.
Quantitative Analysis of the Impact of Floods in Bolivia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-12) Ishizawa, Oscar A.; Miranda, Juan José; Jiménez, Luis Felipe; Villamil, Andrea; Lv, Xijie; Jardillier, Remy Paul Jean; de Haro López, Itzel
Bolivia’s primary natural hazards - such as droughts, frost, severe rains, and hailstorms - are largely hydrometeorological in nature, and include phenomena derived from these, such as floods and landslides. Given their frequency and the proportion of the population exposed to them, floods cause significant economic losses primarily affecting infrastructure, agricultural, and livestock production. Given this context, disaster risk management has been a priority in the agenda of the Government of Bolivia, which has achieved significant progress in establishing a regulatory and institutional framework for this purpose. This study analyzes various indexes commonly used in economic literature to represent flood impacts. The results show that different indexes are consistent across the different characterizations, and point to a significant negative effect of excessive precipitation, intense rainfall, and river overflow, on both per capita income and household poverty. The study is divided into four sections. The first section describes the three indexes used in the study, the information used to calibrate them, and how their values are calculated. The second section describes the methodology used to assess floods imparts on household income and poverty. The third section describes the results for different variants of the indexes and includes a comparison of the predictions of each in different scenarios. The last section shows the main conclusions of the study.
Land Values, Property Rights, and Home Ownership: Implications for Property Taxation in Peru
(Elsevier, 2017-12-30) Hawley, Zackary; Miranda, Juan José; Sawyer, W. Charles
This paper evaluates the effect of property rights on property values in Peru. Previous research on squatting has shed light on how the provision of formal land titles affects a number of socioeconomic outcomes and a subset of this research has provided estimates on how the provision of formal titles affects property values. However, the phenomenon of squatting encompasses a variety of informal property rights distinct from the possession of a legal title. Using an exceptionally rich household data set including geo-location at the community level we study the effects of both formal and informal property rights on property values. Having a title increases property values by almost 7 percent and squatting on the land by invasion reduces values by about 6 percent. Using these estimates, we determine the potential losses of property tax revenue and are able to study the issue of squatting in the context of public finance.