Current Position
Postdoctoral research associate at the University of Münster
Academic Career
2018 – 2019 Visiting Assistant in Research, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University
2015 – 2018 PhD candidate at the University of Münster
2017 – 2018 Visiting Academic Researcher, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University
2015 – 2017 Visiting Researcher, Center for the Investigation of Sustainable Markets, INCAE Business School, Costa Rica
2013 – 2014 Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute for Food and Resource Economics, University of Bonn, Germany
2012 – 2014 European Master in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Policy Analysis from Bonn University, Germany
University of Bonn: Master of Science in Agricultural and Food Economics (GPA 1.0/1.0)
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala: Master of Science in Economics
Thesis: The secondary environmental rebound effects of switching to vegetarianism.
2012 Research Assistant McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy, Montreal, Canada
2010 – 2011 Research Assistant and Translator at Magna Carta Institute, Paris, France
2009 Research Assistant at International Centre for the Prevention of Crime, Montreal, Canada
2008 – 2012 Bachelor of Arts from McGill University, Canada
Honours in Political Science, Minors in Economics and Russian
First Class Honours Diploma, cumulative GPA 3.96/4.0
2 exchange semesters at Sciences Po (Paris) 2010/11, Mention Summa Cum Laude
Thesis: The concept of food security in the Russian Federation.
Publications
Grabs, J., & Ponte, S. (2019). The evolution of power in the global coffee value chain and production network. Journal of Economic Geography, in print.
Dietz, T., Grabs, J., & Estrella Chong, A. (2019). Mainstreamed voluntary sustainability standards and their effectiveness: Evidence from the Hondurancoffee sector. Regulation & Governance, early view, doi: 10.1111/rego.12239
Grabs, J. (2018). Assessing the institutionalization of private sustainability governance in a changing coffee sector. Regulation & Governance, early view, doi: 10.1111/rego.12212
Dietz, T., Auffenberg, J., Grabs, J., Estrella Chong, A., & Kilian, B. (2018). The Voluntary Coffee Standard Index (VOCSI). Developing a composite index toassess and compare the strength of Mainstream Voluntary Sustainability Standards in the global coffee industry. Ecological Economics, 150, 72-87.
Dietz, T., Estrella Chong, A., Font Gilabert, P., & Grabs, J. (2018). Women’s empowerment in rural Honduras and its determinants: insights from coffeecommunities in Ocotepeque and Copan. Development in Practice, 28(1), 33-50.
Grabs, J., Kilian, B., Hernández, D. C., & Dietz, T. (2016). Understanding coffee certification dynamics: A spatial analysis of voluntary sustainability standardproliferation. International Food & Agribusiness Management Review, 19, 31-55.
Grabs, J., Langen, N., Maschkowski, G., & Schäpke, N. (2016). Understanding role models for change: a multilevel analysis of success factors of grassrootsinitiatives for sustainable consumption. Journal of Cleaner Production, 134, 98-111.
Maschkowski, G., Schäpke, N., Grabs, J., & Langen, N. (2016). Learning from co-founders of grassroots initiatives: personal resilience, transition, andbehavioral change – a salutogenic approach. In: Henfrey T., & Maschkowski G. (eds.) Resilience, Community Action and Societal Transformation. East Meon:Permanent Publications and Bristol: Good Works.
Grabs, J. (2015). The rebound effects of switching to vegetarianism. A microeconomic analysis of Swedish consumption behavior. Ecological Economics, 116, 270-279.
Awards
2018 Giandomenico Majone Prize for the best paper presented at the 2018 Biennial Conference of the ECPR
Standing Group on Regulatory Governance by an early career researcher (up to 7 years after PhD)
2018 Admission to the Earth System Governance Research Fellow Network
2016 Best Paper Award in category “Relevance to managers”, IFAMA World Conference
2012 Allen Oliver Gold Medal (for graduate with highest standing in Political Science)
McGill Arts Undergraduate Society Most Outstanding Executive of the Year
2011 Admission to Dean’s Honour List 2009/2010 (also 2010/2011 and 2011/2012), The Hon. Paul & Yvonne
Casey Arts Internship Award
2009 Admission to Golden Key Honour Society
Research grants and scholarships
2019 Gender Equity Grant for International Conference Visits, University of Münster
2018 IPID4All Travel Grant for International Research Exchanges, German Academic Exchange Service
2018 DAAD International Conference Travel Grant, German Academic Exchange Service
2017 IPID4All Travel Grant for International Research Exchanges, German Academic Exchange Service
2017 Gender Equity Grant for International Conference Visits, University of Münster
2014 Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs
2012 Erasmus Mundus Scholarship
2008 James McGill Scholarship (4 years; renewable)
Research interests
Sustainable value chains, International sustainability governance, Alternative value chain models, Sustainable (food) consumption,
Sustainability transitions/behavior change, Agricultural and food policy
Other Professional Experience
2015 Visiting Fellow, NAMA Support Project “Low-Emission Coffee Costa Rica” at GIZ Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica
2014 Visiting Fellow, Internal Policy and Policy Coordination, at European Commission, DG AGRI, Unit B.4 (Organics), Brussels, Belgium
2011 Assistant to First Secretary, Human Rights, at German Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland