Agata Makowska

Agata is a GRI-affiliated PhD Candidate in Environmental Economics at the LSE’s Department of Geography and Environment and is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Her primary research focus is on coastal and marine ecosystems, where she integrates geospatial data science methods and satellite imagery to address the multifaceted challenges of environmental conservation and sustainable development.

Her research explores the balance between environmental stewardship and economic viability, particularly in the context of climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation. Agata’s work encompasses a range of topics, such as the valuation of ecosystem services in coastal regions, the identification of ecosystem service co-benefits and the socio-economic implications of environmental policies in coastal communities. 

Geographically, Agata’s research has a global perspective with a keen interest in the unique challenges faced by Small Island Developing States and coastal regions. Methodologically, she combines traditional econometric approaches for causal inquiries, and the integration of geospatial and remote-sensing data sets to derive comprehensive and data-driven insights, especially in regions with limited data availability.

Background

Before embarking on her PhD journey, Agata gained valuable experience in environmental economics and policy whilst holding the Senior Economist’s position at the Economics for the Environment Consultancy (eftec). She managed and contributed to numerous projects of significant research impact and policy relevance for the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the European Commission, the UK and European Space Agencies, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the Environment Agency, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, and the Capitals Coalition, to name a few. During her PhD she stays actively involved with policymakers, aiming to translate her research findings into actionable strategies for sustainable coastal and marine ecosystem management. Most recently, she completed a research project for the International Labour Organisation and the Green Climate Fund assessing the effectiveness of just transition interventions in developing nations across the globe. 

She holds an MSc degree in Economics from the University of Amsterdam with a specialisation in Public Policy and a BSc degree in Quantitative Methods in Economics with a Decision Methods and Optimisation Methods specialisation from the Warsaw School of Economics. 

In 2019, together with her team, she won the prestigious IPPR Economics Prize for their economic analysis and policy proposal aimed at addressing the UK productivity gap entitled ‘Decentralising Britain: The ‘big push’ towards inclusive prosperity’. 

Key research interests

• Coastal and marine ecosystem services 
• Geospatial and remote-sensing modelling
• Biodiversity economics 
• Sustainable climate change adaptation  
• Socio-economic consequences of climate change and biodiversity interventions