Project duration: June 2021 -- November 2025
Author: Charlotte Janssens
Email: charlotte.janssens@uhasselt.be; charlotte.janssens@kuleuven.be
Institution: Hasselt University, Environmental Economics, Center of Environmental Sciences (CMK) and KU Leuven, Division of Bioeconomics, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Title: Trade, Storage, and Climate Extremes: Theory and Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
Project history: The project was initiated as work package 4 of the PhD research "The Role of Agricultural Trade and Trade policy in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation" at KU Leuven (under supervision of Prof. Miet Maertens). The brainstorm of the research question and methodology started in June 2021. The theoretical and empirical analysis started in the autumn of 2021. The study was developed with input from a research visit at MIT (hosted by Prof. Dave Donaldson) in January - March 2022 and finalized as PhD Chapter in the autumn of 2022. In 2023, the PhD Chapter was developed into an academic paper with input from a research visit at PSAE (hosted by Dr. Christophe Gouel). The paper was submitted to the Journal of Development Economics on January 12, 2024. Final revisions were submitted to JDE on November 2, 2025.
Different published versions:
- PhD Chapter 5: Charlotte Janssens. 2022. “The Role of Agricultural Trade and Trade policy in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation”. (PhD dissertation; December 2022)
- Working paper: Charlotte Janssens. Trade, Storage, and Climate Extremes: Theory and Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. 2024. ⟨hal-04497903⟩ [url](https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-04497903)
- Publication: Charlotte Janssens (2026) Trade, Storage, and Climate Extremes: Theory and Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Development Economics. [url](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2026.103761)
Software versions: R 4.5.1; GAMS 44.4.0
License: A license for GAMS Base Module and GAMS PATH Solver is required to solve the simulation model (mixed complementarity problem).
The file "workflow.md" documents the process to follow in order to replicate the theoretical and empirical analysis in R and GAMS software.