Virginia Tech® home

David Orden

David Orden is a professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. From 2007 to 2021 he held the position of Director of the Global Issues Initiative (GII) in the university’s Institute for Society, Culture and Environment (ISCE). From 2003 to 2016 he held a joint appointment as Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Professor Orden is engaged in research and public policy education programs on the economics and political economy of agricultural support policies, international trade negotiations, and technical barriers to trade. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the University of New South Wales in Australia (1990), chairman of the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium (1996-1998), and Visiting Professor at Stanford University (1998-99). He is the author or editor of five books, including the award-winning Policy Reform in American Agriculture: Analysis and Prognosis (1999) and Agricultural Domestic Support under the WTO: Experience and Prospects (2023).

During 2011-2016, Professor Orden served as director of capacity strengthening for the IFPRI Pakistan Strategy Support Program which funded and mentored 71 competitively-selected research projects at Pakistani universities. He is a founding member of the Research Advisory Committee of the follow-up social sciences grants program Research for Social Transformation and Advancement (RASTA) launched in 2020 by Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives. 

Expertise:

Education

Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1984, Economics

M.S., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), 1977, Agricultural Economics

B.S., Cornell University, 1971, Agricultural Economics

David Orden, Professor
Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics
Virginia Tech
Phone: 202-386-1964
Email: orden@vt.edu 

My research has focused on macroeconomic effects on agricultural prices and trade, the political economy of agricultural support policies in a global context, the determinants and effects of various technical barriers to international trade, and the resolution of trade disputes in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Experience

  • Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, 1983-Present 
  • Director of Capacity Strengthening for IFPRI Pakistan Strategy Support Program, 2011-2016
  • Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute, 2003-2016
  • Visiting Professor, Department of Economics and Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, September 1998-June 1999 
  • Chairman, International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, 1996-1997
  • Visiting Fellow, Department of Economics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, April-December 1990
  • Resident Fellow, National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, Washington D.C., January-March 1990

Awards

American Agricultural Economics Association Quality of Communication Award, August 2007, for Agricultural Trade Reform and the Doha Development Agenda (Kym Anderson and Will Martin, editors), containing chapter “Holograms and Ghosts:  New and Old Ideas for Agricultural Policies,” by David Orden and Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla

American Agricultural Economics Association First-Place Award in the 21st Century Essay Competition, August 2001, for the article “The New Century of Multiagriculturalism” by David Orden and Robert Paarlberg (Review of Agricultural Economics 23(2): 289-301)

American Agricultural Economics Association Quality of Communication Award, August 2000, for the book Policy Reform in American Agriculture: Analysis and Prognosis by David Orden, Robert Paarlberg and Terry Roe (University of Chicago Press)

Committee co-chair for the dissertation An Analysis of the Sources of Growth in French Agriculture, 1960-1984, by Frederic C. Bouchet, which received an American Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award, August 1988

Ph.D. Dissertation Capital Flows, The Exchange Rate and Agricultural Commodity Markets nominated for an American Agricultural Economics Association award by the Economics Department, University of Minnesota, December 1984

M.S. Thesis An Analysis of Socio-Economic Characteristics, Resources, Management Practices, and Productivity of Small Farm Operation Floyd and Brunswick Counties, Virginia nominated for an American Agricultural Economics Association award by the Department of Agricultural Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, December 1977

Books and Journal Special Issues Edited

Brink, Lars, and David Orden. 2023. Agricultural Domestic Support under the WTO: Experience and Prospects. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press (in the series International Trade and Economic Law).

Orden, David (editor). 2015. Trade-Related Agricultural Policy Analysis. Studies in International Economics, Number 47 (Keith Maskus, series editor). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co.

Orden, David, David Blandford and Tim Josling (editors). 2011. WTO Disciplines on Agricultural Support: Seeking a Fair Basis for Trade. Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.

Josling, Tim, Donna Roberts and David Orden. 2004. Food Regulation and Trade: Toward a Safe and Open Global System. Washington D.C.: Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Orden, David, Robert Paarlberg and Terry Roe. 1999. Policy Reform in American Agriculture: Analysis and Prognosis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Selected Other Publications (2007-2022)

Articles in Referred Journals 

Orden, David, and Lars Brink. 2022. “Revising the WTO Measurement of Agricultural Price Support to Resolve the Impasse on Public Stockholding.” Trade, Law and Development 14(2): 69-93.

Ahn, Dukgeun and David Orden. 2021. “China – Domestic Support for Agricultural Producers: One Policy, Multiple Parameters Imply Modest Discipline.” World Trade Review 20(4): 389-404.

Orden, David. 2021. “Agrifood Markets and Support in the United States after 1 Year of Covid-19 Pandemic.” Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Special Issue COVID-19 and the Canadian Agriculture and Food Sectors: Thoughts One Year into the Pandemic 69(2): 243-249.

Haque, Nadeem Ul and David Orden. 2020. “Developing Research and a Research Culture: Results from a Pilot Project in Pakistan.” Pakistan Development Review 59(3): 535-570.

Orden, David. 2020. “Resilience and Vulnerabilities of the North American Food System during the Covid‐19 Pandemic.” EuroChoices, Special Issue on COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Agrifood Systems 19(3): 13-19.

Orden, David. 2020. “Resilience Test of the North American Food System.” Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Special Issue on COVID‐19 and the Canadian Agriculture and Food Sectors: Thoughts from the Pandemic Onset 68(2): 215-217.

Orden, David and Carl Zulauf. 2015. “Political Economy of the 2014 Farm Bill.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 97(5): 1299-1311.

Brink, Lars, David Orden and Giselle Datz. 2013. “BRIC Agricultural Policies Through a WTO Lens.” Journal of Agricultural Economics 64(1): 197-216.   

Orden, David, John Beghin and Guy Henry. 2012. “Key Findings of the NTM-IMPACT Project.” The World Economy 35(8): 967-972.

Zulauf, Carl and David Orden. 2010. “The Revenue Program Option in the 2008 U.S. Farm Bill: Evaluating Performance Characteristics of the ACRE Program.” Agricultural and Resource Economic Review 39(3): 517-533.

Peterson, Everett and David Orden. 2008. “Avocado Pests and Avocado Trade.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 90(2): 321-335.

Bouët, Antoine, Simon Mevel, and David Orden. 2007. “More or less ambition in the Doha Round: Winners and losers from trade liberalization with a development perspective.” The World Economy 30(8): 1253-1280.

Cheng, Fuzhi and David Orden. 2007. “Exchange Rate Alignment and Producer Support Estimates (PSEs) of India.” Agricultural Economics 36(2): 231-41.

Book Chapters

Orden, David, Caesar B. Cororaton and Khadija Rouchdi. 2022. “Technical Regulation of Agri-Food Trade.” In A Modern Guide to Food Economics (Jutta Roosen and Jill Hobbs, editors). Northampton MA: Edward Elgar Publishing Inc.

Orden, David. 2021. “Multilateral Rules for Food and Agricultural Trade.” In Current Issues in Global Agricultural and Trade Policy: A Tribute to the Work of Timothy E. Josling (David Blandford and Stephan Tangermann, editors). London: World Scientific Publishing Co.

Van Kooten, G. Cornelis, David Orden and Andrew Schmitz. 2018. “Use of Subsidies and Taxes and the Reform of Agricultural Policy.” In Routledge Handbook of Agricultural Economics (Gail L. Cramer, Krishna P. Paudel and Andrew Schmitz, editors). Routledge.

Brink, Lars, David Orden and Giselle Datz. 2017. “BRIC Agricultural Policies through a WTO Lens.” Reprinted in Agriculture, Development, and the Global Trading System 2000-2015 (Antoine Bouët and David Laborde, editors). Washington DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Orden, David and Carl Zulauf. 2015. “The 2014 Farm Bill in Historical Perspective.” In The Economic Welfare and Trade Relations Implications of the 2014 Farm Bill (Vince Smith, editor). Somerville, MA: Emerald Group Publishing Inc.

Orden, David. 2014. “Food Security: Challenges and the Way Forward.” In Making Growth Inclusive, Just and Sustainable in South Asia: Proceedings from the 5th South Asia Economic Summit, 11-13th September 2012 (Vaqar Ahmed and Abid Suleri, editors). Islamabad: Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

Bureau, Jean Christophe, David Laborde and David Orden. 2013. “US and EU Farm Policies: The Subsidy Habit.” In 2012 Global Food Policy Report. Washington D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Orden, David, David Blandford and Tim Josling. 2010. “Determinants of Farm Policies in the United States.” In Political Economy of Distortions to Agricultural Incentives (Kym Anderson, editor). Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press and Washington D.C.: World Bank.

Cororaton, Caesar B. and David Orden. 2010. “Poverty Implications of Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Price Distortions in Pakistan.” In Agricultural Price Distortions, Inequality and Poverty (Kym Anderson, John Cockburn and Will Martin, editors). Washington D.C.: World Bank.

Orden, David. 2010. “WTO Disciplines and Economic Dimensions of the 2008 U.S. Farm Bill.” In Food Crises and the WTO (Baris Karapinar and Christian Haberli, editors). Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.

Orden, David. 2009. “Farm Policy Reform in the United States: Past Progress and Future Direction.” In Agricultural Subsidies in the WTO Green Box: Ensuring Coherence with Sustainable Development Goals (Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz, Christophe Bellmann and Jonathan Hepburn, editors). Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press.

Orden, David and David Blandford. 2009. “Farm Support Policies of the United States: Review and Prospects for Minimizing Production and Trade Distortions.” In Non-Distorting Farm Support to Enhance Global Food Production (Aziz Elbehri and Alexander Sarris, editors). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Orden, David and Donna Roberts. 2007. “Food Regulation and Trade Under the WTO: Ten Years in Perspectives.” Agricultural Economics 37(s1): 103-118.

Selected Earlier Publications (1980-2006 “Top 15”)

Orden, David and Eugenio Diaz-Bonilla. 2006. “Holograms and Ghosts: New and Old Ideas for Agricultural Policies.” In Agricultural Trade Reform and the Doha Development Agenda (Kym Anderson and Will Martin, editors). Washington, DC: World Bank and Palgrave/Macmillan.

Snape, Richard and David Orden. 2005. “Integrating Import Risk and Trade Benefit Analysis.” In The WTO and Agriculture, Volume II (Kym Anderson and Timothy Josling, editors). Northampton MA: Edward Elgar. Reprinted from The Economics of Quarantine and the SPS Agreement (Kym Anderson, Cheryl McRae and David Wilson, editors), University of Adelaide: Centre for International Economic Studies, 2001.

Orden, David and Robert Gilles. 2002. “The Merger of Two Economics Ph.D. Programs at Virginia Tech.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 84(3): 307-313. 

Orden, David and Robert Paarlberg. 2001. “The New Century of Multiagriculturalism.” Review of Agricultural Economics 23(2): 289-301.

Schleich, Joachim and David Orden. 2000. “Environmental Quality and Industry Protection with Noncooperative versus Cooperative Domestic and Trade Policies.” Review of International Economics 8(4): 681-697.

Josling, Tim, Donna Roberts and David Orden. 1999. A Framework for Analyzing Technical Trade Barriers in Agricultural Markets. Technical Bulletin 1876, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

Orden, David and Donna Roberts, editors. 1997. Understanding Technical Barriers to Agricultural Trade. St. Paul, Minnesota: University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics, International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, January.

Orden, David. 1996. “Agricultural Interest Groups and the North American Free Trade Agreement.” In The Political Economy of American Trade Policy (Anne O. Krueger, editor). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Bewley, Ronald, David Orden, Minxian Yang and Lance A. Fisher. 1994. “Comparison of Box-Tiao and Johansen Canonical Estimators of Cointegrating Vectors in VEC (1) Models.” Journal of Econometrics 64:1: 3-27.

Orden, David and Lance A. Fisher. 1993. “Financial deregulation and the dynamics of money, prices, and output in New Zealand and Australia.” Journal of Money, Credit and Banking 25(2): 273-292.

Robertson, John C. and David Orden. 1990. “Monetary Impacts on Prices in the Short Run and Long Run: Some Evidences from New Zealand.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 72(1): 160-171.

Bouchet, Frederic, David Orden and George W. Norton. 1989. “Sources of Growth in French Agriculture.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 71(2): 280-293.

Orden, David and Paul Fackler. 1989. “Identifying Monetary Impacts on Agricultural Prices in VAR Models.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 71(2): 495-502.

Schuh, G. Edward and David Orden. 1988. “The Macroeconomics of Agriculture and Rural America.” In Agriculture and Rural Areas Approaching the 21st Century: Challenges for Agricultural Economics (R.J. Hildreth et al., editors). Ames: Iowa State University Press.

Orden, David, Steven T. Buccola and Patricia Klobus-Edwards. 1980. Cooperative Extension Small-Farm Programs in the South: An Inventory and Evaluation, Research Division Bulletin 153, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, April.