Vanwey, Leah

Leah K Vanwey

Dean of the School of Professional Studies, Professor of Environment and Society and Sociology

Overview

Leah VanWey is a social demographer and environmental social scientist. Her research currently focuses on household responses to a payment for reforestation program in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, together with the social and environmental impacts of the program. She is committed to interdisciplinary research, and has worked with anthropologists, geographers, demographers, sociologists, urban planners, historians, geoscientists and ecologists at various times. At Brown, Professor VanWey has served as Senior Deputy Director of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Associate Director of the Population Studies and Training Center, and Associate Provost for Academic Space. She currently serves as Dean of the School of Professional Studies. Leah received her PhD from the University of North Carolina, where she was a trainee in the Carolina Population Center, and has previously taught at Indiana University.

Brown Affiliations

Research Areas

On the Web

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Publications Visualize it

Richards, Peter, Arima, Eugenio, VanWey, Leah, Cohn, Avery, Bhattarai, Nishan. "Are Brazil's Deforesters Avoiding Detection?." Conservation Letters, 2016.

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Cohn, Avery S., VanWey, Leah K., Spera, Stephanie A., Mustard, John F. "Cropping frequency and area response to climate variability can exceed yield response." Nature Climate change, vol. 6, no. 6, 2016, pp. 601-604.

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Roy, Eric D., Richards, Peter D., Martinelli, Luiz A., Coletta, Luciana Della, Lins, Silvia Rafaela Machado, Vazquez, Felipe Ferraz, Willig, Edwin, Spera, Stephanie A., VanWey, Leah K., Porder, Stephen. "The phosphorus cost of agricultural intensification in the tropics." NPLANTS, vol. 2, no. 5, 2016, pp. 16043.

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Richards, Peter D., VanWey, Leah K. "A Second Act in Rural Migration in Western Pará: Rural Out-Migration and the Legacy of Amazon Colonization." Journal of Latin American Geography, vol. 14, no. 2, 2015, pp. 53-75.

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Richards, Peter D., VanWey, Leah. "Farm-scale distribution of deforestation and remaining forest cover in Mato Grosso." Nature Climate change, 2015.

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Richards, Peter, Pellegrina, Heitor, VanWey, Leah, Spera, Stephanie. "Soybean Development: The Impact of a Decade of Agricultural Change on Urban and Economic Growth in Mato Grosso, Brazil." PLoS ONE, vol. 10, no. 4, 2015, pp. e0122510.

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Richards, Peter, VanWey, Leah. "Where Deforestation Leads to Urbanization: How Resource Extraction Is Leading to Urban Growth in the Brazilian Amazon." Annals of the Association of American Geographers, vol. 105, no. 4, 2015, pp. 806-823.

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VanWey, Leah K, Richards, Peter D. "Eco-certification and greening the Brazilian soy and corn supply chains." Environmental Research Letters, vol. 9, no. 3, 2014, pp. 031002.

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Randell, Heather F., VanWey, Leah K. "Networks Versus Need: Drivers of Urban Out-Migration in the Brazilian Amazon." Popul Res Policy Rev, vol. 33, no. 6, 2014, pp. 915-936.

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Guedes, Gilvan R., VanWey, Leah K., Hull, James R., Antigo, Mariangela, Barbieri, Alisson F. "Poverty dynamics, ecological endowments, and land use among smallholders in the Brazilian Amazon." Social Science Research, vol. 43, 2014, pp. 74-91.

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Spera, Stephanie A, Cohn, Avery S, VanWey, Leah K, Mustard, Jack F, Rudorff, Bernardo F, Risso, Joel, Adami, Marcos. "Recent cropping frequency, expansion, and abandonment in Mato Grosso, Brazil had selective land characteristics." Environmental Research Letters, vol. 9, no. 6, 2014, pp. 064010.

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VanWey, L. K., Spera, S., de Sa, R., Mahr, D., Mustard, J. F. "Socioeconomic development and agricultural intensification in Mato Grosso." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 368, no. 1619, 2013, pp. 20120168-20120168.

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VanWey, Leah, Vithayathil, Trina. "Off-farm Work among Rural Households: A Case Study in the Brazilian Amazon." Rural Sociol, vol. 78, no. 1, 2012, pp. 29-50.

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Guedes, Gilvan Ramalho, Queiroz, Bernardo Lanza, Barbieri, Alisson Flávio, VanWey, Leah Karin. "Ciclo de vida domiciliar, ciclo do lote e mudança no uso da terra na Amazônia Brasileira: revisão crítica da literatura." Rev. bras. estud. popul., vol. 28, no. 1, 2011, pp. 231-240.

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VanWey, Leah K., Guedes, Gilvan R., D’Antona, Álvaro O. "Out-migration and land-use change in agricultural frontiers: insights from Altamira settlement project." Popul Environ, vol. 34, no. 1, 2011, pp. 44-68.

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D'Antona, Alvaro, Vanwey, Leah, Ludewigs, Thomas. "Polarização da estrutura fundiária e mudanças no uso e na cobertura da terra na Amazônia." Acta Amazonica, vol. 41, no. 2, 2011, pp. 223-232.

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Guedes, Gilvan Ramalho, Queiroz, Bernardo Lanza, VanWey, Leah Karin. "Transferências intergeracionais privadas na Amazônia rural brasileira." Nova econ., vol. 19, no. 2, 2009.

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Parker, Dawn C., Entwisle, Barbara, Rindfuss, Ronald R., Vanwey, Leah K., Manson, Steven M., Moran, Emilio, An, Li, Deadman, Peter, Evans, Tom P., Linderman, Marc, Mussavi Rizi, S. Mohammad, Malanson, George. "Case studies, cross-site comparisons, and the challenge of generalization: comparing agent-based models of land-use change in frontier regions." Journal of Land Use Science, vol. 3, no. 1, 2008, pp. 41-72.

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De Oliveira D'Antona, A., Cak, A. D., VanWey, L. K. "Collecting Sketch Maps to Understand Property Land Use and Land Cover in Large Surveys." Field Methods, vol. 20, no. 1, 2008, pp. 66-84.

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Rindfuss, Ronald R., Entwisle, Barbara, Walsh, Stephen J., An, Li, Badenoch, Nathan, Brown, Daniel G., Deadman, Peter, Evans, Tom P., Fox, Jefferson, Geoghegan, Jacqueline, Gutmann, Myron, Kelly, Maggi, Linderman, Marc, Liu, Jianguo, Malanson, George P., Mena, Carlos F., Messina, Joseph P., Moran, Emilio F., Parker, Dawn C., Parton, William, Prasartkul, Pramote, Robinson, Derek T., Sawangdee, Yothin, Vanwey, Leah K., Verburg, Peter H. "Land use change: complexity and comparisons." Journal of Land Use Science, vol. 3, no. 1, 2008, pp. 1-10.

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de Sherbinin, Alex, VanWey, Leah K., McSweeney, Kendra, Aggarwal, Rimjhim, Barbieri, Alisson, Henry, Sabine, Hunter, Lori M., Twine, Wayne, Walker, Robert. "Rural household demographics, livelihoods and the environment." Global Environmental Change, vol. 18, no. 1, 2008, pp. 38-53.

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D'Antona, Álvaro de Oliveira, VanWey, Leah Karin. "Estratégia para amostragem da população e da paisagem em pesquisas sobre uso e cobertura da terra." Rev. bras. estud. popul., vol. 24, no. 2, 2007.

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VanWey, Leah K., D’Antona, Álvaro O., Brondízio, Eduardo S. "Household demographic change and land use/land cover change in the Brazilian Amazon." Popul Environ, vol. 28, no. 3, 2007, pp. 163-185.

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VanWey, Leah K, Cebulko, Kara B. "Intergenerational Coresidence Among Small Farmers in Brazilian Amazônia." Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 69, no. 5, 2007, pp. 1257-1270.

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D’Antona, Álvaro O., VanWey, Leah K., Hayashi, Corey M. "Property Size and Land Cover Change in the Brazilian Amazon." Popul Environ, vol. 27, no. 5-6, 2006, pp. 373-396.

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VanWey, Leah Karin, Tucker, Catherine M., McConnell, Eileen Diaz. "Community Organization, Migration, and Remittances in Oaxaca." Latin American Research Review, vol. 40, no. 1, 2005, pp. 83-107.

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VanWey, L. K., Rindfuss, R. R., Gutmann, M. P., Entwisle, B., Balk, D. L. "Confidentiality and spatially explicit data: Concerns and challenges." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 102, no. 43, 2005, pp. 15337-15342.

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VanWey, Leah K. "Land Ownership as a Determinant of International and Internal Migration in Mexico and Internal Migration in Thailand1." Int Migr Rev, vol. 39, no. 1, 2005, pp. 141-172.

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Entwisle, Barbara, Walsh, Stephen J., Rindfuss, Ronald R., VanWey, Leah K. "Population and Upland Crop Production in Nang Rong, Thailand." Popul Environ, vol. 26, no. 6, 2005, pp. 449-470.

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VanWey, Leah Karin. "Altruistic and Contractual Remittances Between Male and Female Migrants and Households in Rural Thailand." Demography, vol. 41, no. 4, 2004, pp. 739-756.

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Research

Research Overview

Professor VanWey has studied the dynamics of frontier settlement and consolidation in the Brazilian Amazon. She has asked how we can simultaneously protect the Amazon's precious environmental resources while promoting equitable social and economic development. Part of the answer there and elsewhere lies in mobilizing the strong webs of support that have always helped families survive and improve their lives, while part of the answer lies in developing non-family institutions. Most recently, her work has moved to a much older frontier in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Professor VanWey examines here how best to move forward from centuries of intensive land use toward a prosperous future in a landscape rich with forests and biodiversity.

Funded Research

8/2013-7/2015. "Brazil's New Green Revolution: Capital, Investment, and Agricultural Expansion." (role: co-PI, postdoctoral mentor). NSF Grant # SMA-1305489 ($255,028).
5/2013-4/2018. "Training in Demography." (role: PD, Program Director). NIH Grant # 2 T32 HD007338-26 (~$1.25 million, five predoc + one postdoc slots per year).
5/2013-4/2014. "Doctoral Dissertation Research: Local Histories and the Production of Centralized Knowledge" (role: PI, with graduate student Trina Vithayathil, co-PI). NSF Grant # SES – 1303274 ($7182).
1/2011-12/2013. "Rates and Drivers of Land Use Land Cover Change in the Agricultural Frontier of Mato Grosso, Brazil" (role: co-I). NASA Grant # NNX11AH91G ($745,210).
1/2011-12/2013. "Climate Variability, Migration and Intergenerational Transfers" (role: PI). National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH grant # 1R03HD064696 ($145,565).
9/2010-8/2014. "PIRE: Land Use, Ecosystem Services and the Fate of Marginal Lands in a Globalized World" (role: co-PI). NSF grant # OISE-0968211 ($1,199,999).

Background

Education and Training

Year	Degree	Institution
2001	PhD	University of North Carolina
1999	MA	University of North Carolina
1996	BA	University of North Carolina

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Collaborators

Name	Title
Mustard, John	Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Professor of Environment and Society
Porder, Stephen	Assistant Provost for Sustainability, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Environment and Society, Graduate Program Co-Director for the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program

Affiliations

Department of Sociology

Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

Population Studies and Training Center

Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences

Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies

Researchers@Brown

Researchers@Brown

Leah K Vanwey

Dean of the School of Professional Studies, Professor of Environment and Society and Sociology

Overview

Brown Affiliations

Research Areas

On the Web

Publications Visualize it

Research

Research Overview

Funded Research

Background

Education and Training

Affiliations Visualize it

Collaborators

Affiliations

Teaching

Teaching Overview

Teaching