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Business & Economics

Dr Thomas McDermott

B.Comm., M.Sc. PhD

Contact Details

Lecturer Above The Bar
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
University of Galway
E: thomas.mcdermott@universityofgalway.ie
 
researcher
 

Biography

I am the Galway University Foundation Lecturer in the Economics of Climate Change and Development at the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI, Galway, and a founding member of the Centre for Economic Research on Inclusivity and Sustainability (CERIS) at NUI Galway. 

My research is at the intersection of environmental and development economics. In particular, I study the economic and social impacts of extreme weather events such as floods, as well as how societies and economies adapt and respond to changing environmental risk.  I have published widely, including in leading economics journals, as well as more generalist science and social science journals. My Google Scholar profile is here. I am also co-editor with Sam Fankhauser of The Economics of Climate Resilient Development (Edward Elgar, 2016).

Details of my latest research are available on my website here. 

I have previously consulted for the World Bank (Investing in Disaster Risk Management in an Uncertain Climate), the Asian Development Bank (Lead Consultant for Strengthening Disaster Resilience, ADO 2019), and the Irish Government (EPA/Dept of Climate Action) -- including contributing a background paper for Ireland's first statutory National Climate Change Adaptation Framework (published in January 2018). My research has also been funded by the Irish EPA, and I am a former IRC Government of Ireland Research Fellow. 

I hold a PhD from Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), where I was supervised by Frank Barry and Richard Tol. During the Summer of 2012 I was a PhD research intern at the United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) in Helsinki. I hold a B.Comm (International - with Italian) and an M.Sc. in Economics from the National University of Ireland, Galway and previously taught economics at Dublin City University and at UCC.

Research Interests

My research interests are at the intersection of the economics of climate change and development economics, with a focus on empirical evaluation of the economic impacts of extreme weather events, such as floods, and on issues of public policy related to the economics of adaptation to climate change.

Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
Climate Change, Health Outcomes and Adaptation 01-SEP-23 31-AUG-27
Stop Floods for Ireland 01-JUN-23 31-DEC-24
Climate Resilient Places 01-APR-22 30-SEP-24

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2023) 'Temperature, morbidity, and behavior in milder climates'
Gibney, Garreth; McDermott, Thomas K.J.; Cullinan, John (2023) 'Temperature, morbidity, and behavior in milder climates'. Economic Modelling, [Details]
(2022) 'Global exposure to flood risk and poverty'
McDermott, Thomas K.J. (2022) 'Global exposure to flood risk and poverty'. Nature Communications, [Details]
(2022) 'Population displacement and urban conflict: Global evidence from more than 3300 flood events'
Castells-Quintana, David; Lopez-Uribe, Maria del Pilar; McDermott, Thomas K.J. (2022) 'Population displacement and urban conflict: Global evidence from more than 3300 flood events'. Journal Of Development Economics, [Details]
(2022) 'On the frontlines An exploratory analysis of unequal exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 in the United States'
Vila, Daniel; McDermott, Thomas K.J. (2022) 'On the frontlines An exploratory analysis of unequal exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 in the United States'. International Journal For Equity In Health, [Details]
(2021) 'A discrete choice experiment exploring farmer preferences for insurance against extreme weather events'
Doherty, Edel; Mellett, Sinead; Norton, Daniel; McDermott, Thomas K.J.; O¿ Hora, Denis; Ryan, Mary (2021) 'A discrete choice experiment exploring farmer preferences for insurance against extreme weather events'. Journal Of Environmental Management, [Details]
(2020) 'The urbanising force of global warming: the role of climate change in the spatial distribution of population'
Castells-Quintana, David; Krause, Melanie; McDermott, Thomas K.J. (2020) 'The urbanising force of global warming: the role of climate change in the spatial distribution of population'. Journal Of Economic Geography, [Details]
(2020) 'Flooded Cities'
Adriana Kocornik-Mina, Thomas K.J. McDermott, Guy Michaels, Ferdinand Rauch (2020) 'Flooded Cities'. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 12 (2):35-66 [ARAN Link] [Details]
(2019) 'The impact of flooding disruption on the spatial distribution of commuter's income'
Kilgarriff, P;McDermott, TKJ;Vega, A;Morrissey, K;O'Donoghue, C (2019) 'The impact of flooding disruption on the spatial distribution of commuter's income'. Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy, 8 :48-64 [DOI] [Details]
(2018) 'Adaptation to climate change: A review through a development economics lens'
Castells-Quintana, D;Lopez-Uribe, MD;McDermott, TKJ (2018) 'Adaptation to climate change: A review through a development economics lens'. World Development, 104 :183-196 [DOI] [Details]
(2018) 'How normative interpretations of climate risk assessment affect local decision-making: an exploratory study at the city scale in Cork, Ireland'
McDermott, TKJ;Surminski, S (2018) 'How normative interpretations of climate risk assessment affect local decision-making: an exploratory study at the city scale in Cork, Ireland'. Philosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society A-Mathematical Physical And Engineering Sciences, 376 [DOI] [Details]
(2016) 'Geography, institutions and development: A review of the long-run impacts of climate change'
Castells-Quintana, David, Lopez-Uribe, Maria, McDermott, Thomas K.J. (2016) 'Geography, institutions and development: A review of the long-run impacts of climate change'. Climate and Development, [Details]
(2016) 'Model confirmation in climate economics'
Millner A,McDermott TKJ, (2016) 'Model confirmation in climate economics'. Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America, 113 (31) [Details]
(2016) 'Why is gold a safe haven?'
Baur, Dirk G, McDermott, Thomas K.J. (2016) 'Why is gold a safe haven?'. The Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 10 :63-71 [Details]
(2014) 'Disasters and Development: Natural Disasters, Credit Constraints and Economic Growth'
McDermott, Thomas K.J., Barry, Frank, Tol, Richard S.J. (2014) 'Disasters and Development: Natural Disasters, Credit Constraints and Economic Growth'. Oxford Economic Papers, 66 (3):750-773 [Details]
(2014) 'Understanding the adaptation deficit: Why are poor countries more vulnerable to climate events than rich countries?'
Fankhauser, Samuel, McDermott, Thomas K.J. (2014) 'Understanding the adaptation deficit: Why are poor countries more vulnerable to climate events than rich countries?'. Global Environmental Change, 27 :9-18 [Details]
(2010) 'Is Gold a safe haven: International evidence'
Baur, Dirk G., McDermott, Thomas K.J. (2010) 'Is Gold a safe haven: International evidence'. Journal of Banking and Finance, 34 (8):1886-1898 [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2016) 'Coping with climate risk: The options'
Thomas K.J. McDermott, Maria del Pilar Lopez-Uribe, David Castells-Quintana (2016) 'Coping with climate risk: The options' In: The Economics of Climate Resilient Development. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. [Details]
(2016) 'Climate Resilient Development: An Introduction'
Fankhauser, S.; McDermott, T. (2016) 'Climate Resilient Development: An Introduction' In: The Economics of Climate Resilient Development. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. [Details]
(2016) 'Investing in Disaster Risk Management in an Uncertain Climate'
McDermott, TKJ (2016) 'Investing in Disaster Risk Management in an Uncertain Climate' In: Realising the Triple Resilience Dividend: A New Business Case for Disaster Risk Management. London: Springer. [Details]
(2016) 'The role of climate in development'
Thomas K.J. McDermott, Maria del Pilar Lopez-Uribe, David Castells-Quintana (2016) 'The role of climate in development' In: The Economics of Climate Resilient Development. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. [Details]

Published Reports

  Year Publication
(2019) Adaptive Responses to Climate Impacts (ARC): Costing the Impacts of Climate Change on the Irish Economy and Assessing the Options for Adaptation.
McDermott, T.; Doran, J.; Kilgarriff, P.; Surminski, S.; Perez-Alaniz, M. (2019) Adaptive Responses to Climate Impacts (ARC): Costing the Impacts of Climate Change on the Irish Economy and Assessing the Options for Adaptation. Environmental Protection Agency, Johnstown Castle. [Details]
(2019) EU-ETS and Competitiveness of Irish Industry.
McInerney, C.; O'Connor, E.; Power, B.; Deane, P.; McDermott, T. (2019) EU-ETS and Competitiveness of Irish Industry. Environmental Protection Agency, Johnstown Castle. [Details]
(2019) Strengthening Disaster Resilience.
McDermott, T.; Ferrarini, B.; Noy, I. (2019) Strengthening Disaster Resilience. Asian Development Bank, Manila. [Details]

Edited Book

  Year Publication
(2016) The Economics of Climate Resilient Development.
(2016) The Economics of Climate Resilient Development. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Edited Book [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2020 President's Award for Research Excellence University of Galway

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Economics of Disasters and Climate Change Editorial Board Member /
Economic and Social Review Associate Editor /

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
Economics Exams Committee Member /
Athena Swan Self Assessment Team Member of Group E (staff comms and culture survey) /

Teaching Interests

I am the programme director for the MSc Global Environmental Economics 

Current Postgraduate Students (Research)

  Student Degree Type Type
Garreth Gibney Doctorate - Structured Ph.D. in the College of Business, Law & Public Policy Supervisor

Modules Taught

  Term/Year Module Title Module Code Subject / Desc
Semester 1 Climate Change Economics EC5118
Semester 2 European Energy Policy EC5144
Semester 1 Ireland in the Global Economy EC423