Hannah Amy Farkas

Welcome to my website! I am a 5th-year PhD candidate in the Sustainable Development program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and Climate School. I am an environmental economist with research interests lying at the intersection of extreme weather adaptation and labor and household credit markets in the US.

In my current research, I investigate how the wages and schedules of hourly workers respond to extreme temperature and precipitation, how credit scores and financial wellbeing are impacted by water utility bills in drought-burdened areas of California, and the political processes behind the systems through which we allocate aid to households in financial distress following natural disasters.

Prior to joining Columbia University, I served as a Research Assistant at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. in the Consumer Finance Section. During my tenure there, I studied aspects of household auto loan debt, credit card debt, student loan debt, and home mortgage markets, particularly tracking the differences in characteristics of debt across subprime and prime borrowers, driving my interest in studying the impacts of climate change on consumer debt and household financial wellbeing.

I received my BA from Johns Hopkins University in 2017, where I graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in Global Environmental Change and Sustainability and Economics. In my free time, I love hiking, baking cakes, running, and exploring all of NYC’s many concert venues.

Please reach out if you are interested in my research!