Julian Joseph
Research Scholar
Water Security Research Group
Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program
Biography
Julian Joseph is an economist in the Water Security Research Group of the IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program, where he works at the intersection of development economics and environmental economics. Through a specialized focus on analyzing connections within the water-food-environment nexus, his research supports sustainable development initiatives and policy analysis globally, across countries and regions in Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.Joseph connects economic theory with advanced biophysical modeling, such as the IIASA hydrological model, CWatM, and its Global Agroecological Zoning (GAEZ) methodology. He develops and applies a range of economic models, including Computable General Equilibrium (CGE), hydro-economic optimization, and various econometric analyses. His technical expertise is backed by programming skills in R, GAMS, and STATA, complemented by proficiency in geo-spatial analysis and the integration of complex models.
His experience extends beyond academia to consulting for conducting micro-econometric impact evaluations for development projects in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. He teaches master’s courses in environmental and resource economics at BOKU University in Vienna.
His research, including his doctoral work on foreign investment in Sub-Saharan African agriculture, addresses sustainable development challenges. He holds a PhD in economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) and studied economics at WU, the University of Mannheim, and in Istanbul.
Last update: 05 NOV 2025
Publications
Joseph, J. (2025). Examining Foreign Direct Investment effects on agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan African economies. International Economics 184 e100654. 10.1016/j.inteco.2025.100654.
Kahil, T. , Baccour, S., Joseph, J., Sahu, R.K. , Burek, P. , Ng, J., Asad, S., Fridman, D. , Albiac Murillo, J.M.S., Ward, F.A., & Wada, Y. (2025). Development of the global hydro-economic model (ECHO-Global version 1.0) for assessing the performance of water management options. Geoscientific Model Development 18 (20) 7987-8015. 10.5194/gmd-18-7987-2025.
Joseph, J., Tramberend, S. , Kabi, F., Fischer, G., & Kahil, T. (2025). Sustainable intensification of fodder crop production can mitigate feed shortage and seasonality in East Africa. Environmental Development 54 e101158. 10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101158.
Tramberend, S. , Kariuki, P., Joseph, J., Luoga, H., Kahil, T. , & Bwire, M.K. (2025). Water security for East Africa. In: Scientific Advice Mechanism Conference 2025, 26-27 May, 2025, Vienna, Austria.
Motta, C.F., Mair, R., Fenwick, C., Sahu, R.K. , Willaarts, B. , Fridman, D. , Joseph, J., Smilovic, M. , & Kahil, T. (2024). A Blueprint for Resilience : Charting the Course for Water Security in Europe and Central Asia - Diagnostic Report. World Bank , Washington, D.C.