2024 Joseph Crump Fellow to Study Politics of Water Shortages

Magdalena Larreboure, a PhD Candidate in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, has been awarded the 2024 Joseph Crump Fellowship. Larreboure’s research will explore the political challenges and institutional dynamics that shape water resource management in her home country of Chile.

In particular, the Crump Fellowship will support Larreboure’s analysis of the 2010-2018 Central Chile Mega Drought, a highly politicized water conflict that triggered social grievances due to inadequate water access for domestic use and irrigation by smallholder farmers. She will compare the effects of the mega drought on large versus small farms and analyze how Chile’s institutional framework accounted for any differences. By better understanding the political and institutional factors that may affect water shortages and their distributional impacts, Larreboure’s work will inform policy solutions for addressing the unequal impacts of climate change.

“I believe that the most significant challenges in environmental policy are rooted in its political dimensions. In the case of water management, the misallocation of resources can result in shortages among the least politically favored sectors of the population. When there’s abundance, an inequitable policy is concealed, but when droughts hit, it can lead to severe outcomes,” said Larreboure. “With the support of the Crump Fellowship, I plan to better understand the influence of agribusiness on water policy. Correctly balancing the resources between residents, smallholder farmers and agroindustry is a policy problem that should be solvable.”

“Chile is just one of many countries grappling with water scarcity and desertification. Magdalena’s work could yield valuable insights for other scholars and policymakers to formulate effective, equitable water management policies,” said Henry Lee, Director of the Belfer Center’s Environment and Natural Resources Program, which administers the fellowship.

Prior to starting her PhD, Larreboure worked as a senior research specialist at the Busara Center in Nairobi, Kenya. She holds a Master’s degree in economics and a Bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

The Joseph Crump Fellowship was established in 1985 to support a Harvard doctoral candidate conducting research at the intersection of the environment, natural resource management, and energy policy. The program has funded over 30 scholars over 30 years.