George Norton

Professor

Professor Emeritus

gnorton@vt.edu

540-231-7731

George Norton retired and became an emeritus professor during fall 2020. He continues to participate in some research projects in the areas of international development and trade, impact assessment, agricultural production economics, and resource and environmental economics. His research develops and applies methods for evaluating social and economic impacts of agricultural technologies and policies, for assessing the economic benefits of integrated pest management programs, and for setting agricultural research priorities. He has conducted research and extension in more than 35 countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia and has advised more than 70 graduate students and involved more than 35 undergraduates in his research program. He works with several national and international agricultural research institutions. To learn more about George Norton's work, click on the information below.

Intro

Expertise

Education

Ph.D., Agricultural Economics, University of Minnesota, 1979

M.S., Agricultural Economics, University of Minnesota, 1975

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

Research

Role of Graduate Students

I have advised more than 70 Masters and Ph.D. students on thesis research related to international agricultural development and trade, agricultural research evaluation and priority setting, economics of integrated pest management, and impact assessment of agricultural technologies.

Current Research Projects:

Multi-year, USAID-funded research on the economic, poverty, environmental impacts of integrated pest management in Africa and Asia.

Project funded by the Standing Panel Program on Impact assessment of the CGIAR to strengthen impact assessment in two CGIAR centers.

Teaching

Courses Recently Taught:

AAEC 3204 International Agricultural Development and Trade
AAEC 5154 International Agricultural Development and Trade
AAEC 5174 International Agricultural Development and Trade (on-line course)
AAEC 4984 Ecuador Research Internship Program

Experience/Awards

Experience

2020 - Present: Professor Emeritus, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1991 - 2020: Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1986 - 1991: Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1980 - 1986: Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1999 - 2000: Visiting Scientist, Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington DC
1991 - 1994: Senior Fellow, International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) (adjunct appointment)
1988 - 1991: Research Fellow, International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) (adjunct appointment)
1987 - 1988: Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cornell University
1979 - 1980: Research Associate, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
1977 - 1978: Consultant to Winrock International, Morrilton, Arkansas, assigned to the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Indian Reservation, Sisseton, South Dakota
1974 - 1977: Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St.Paul, Minnesota
1971 - 1973: Peace Corps Volunteer, Colombia

Awards

Fellow, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, 2018

Faculty Service Award, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, 2017

Lifetime Achievement Award, 8th International IPM Symposium, 2015

Publication of Enduring Quality, 2015, from the American Agricultural Economics Association for book co-authored with Julian Alston and Philip Pardey, Science Under Scarcity: Principles and Practice for Agricultural Research Evaluation and Priority Setting (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1995)

Latin America Section Outstanding Selected Poster Award, 2015, from the American Agricultural Economics Association for poster co-authored with Vanessa Carrión, Jeff Alwang, and Victor Barrera, RCTs for Agriculture: Exploring the Impact of a Text Message-based Intervention on Adoption of Blackberry Integrated Crop Management in Ecuador

International Plant Protection Award of Distinction, presented as a group award to the Virginia Tech-led Integrated Pest Management Innovation Laboratory at the XVIII International Plant Protection Congress in Berlin, 2015

Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at the 8Th International IPM Symposium, St Lake City, UT, 2015

Quality Communication Award, Honorable mention, 2012 from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association for report co-authored with Wallace Huffman and Luther Tweeten, Investing in a Better Future Through Public Agricultural Research, CAST Commentary QTA2011-1

Alumni Award for Excellence in Graduate Academic Advising, Virginia Tech, 2011

Certificate of Excellence for Educational Materials, Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, 2011

International IPM Excellence Award, presented at the 6th International IPM Symposium, 2009

Alumni Award for Excellence in International Outreach and Research, Virginia Tech, 2001

First place, essay competition sponsored by the International Food Policy Research Institute, co-authored essay with Jeffrey Alwang, Policy for Plenty: Measuring the Benefits of Policy-Oriented Social Science Research. 1996

Committee Chair for the thesis Estimating Environmental and Human Health Benefits of Reducing Pesticide Use Through Integrated pest Management Programs, by Jeffrey D. Mullen, which received an American Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding M.S. Thesis Award, 1996

Quality of Research Discovery, Honorable Mention, 1996 from the American Agricultural Economics Association for book co-authored with Julian Alston and Philip Pardey, Science Under Scarcity: Principles and Practice for Agricultural Research Evaluation and Priority Setting (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1995)

Quality of Communication Award for 1994 from the American Agricultural Economics Association for book coauthored with Jeffrey Alwang, Introduction to Economics of Agricultural Development (New York: McGraw Hill, 1993)

Committee Chair for the dissertation Pesticide Regulatory Actions and the Development of Pest Resistance: A Dynamic Bioeconomic Model, by Richard F. Kazmierczak Jr., which received an American Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award, 1992

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, 1988

Publications

Recent Publications

Rahman, Md. Sadique,* George W. Norton, and M. Harun-Ar. Rashid, Economic Impacts of Integrated Pest Management on Vegetable Production in Bangladesh, Crop Protection, 113 (2018): 6-14.

Guerci, Michael,* George W. Norton, Malick N. Ba, Ibrahim Baoua, Jeffrey Alwang, Laouali Amadou, Oumou Moumouni, Laouali Karimoune, and Rangaswamy Muniappan, Economic Feasibility of an Augmentative Biological Control Industry in Niger, Crop Protection, 110 (2018): 34-40.

Zeng, Di,* Jeffrey Alwang, George W. Norton, Moti Jaleta, Bekele Shiferaw, and Chilot Yirga, Land Ownership and Technology Adoption Revisited: Improved Maize Varieties in Ethiopia, Land Use Policy, 72 (March 2018): 270-279.

Farris, J. J*. Alwang, C. Larochelle, and G.W. Norton, Poverty Analysis Using Small Area Estimation: An Application to Conservation Agriculture in Uganda, Agricultural Economics, 48 (6) (November 2017): 671-681.

Zeng, Di,* Jeffrey Alwang, George W. Norton, Bekele Shiferaw, Moti Jaleta, and Chilot Yirga, Agricultural Technology Adoption and Child Nutrition Enhancement: Improved Maize Varieties in Rural Ethiopia, Agricultural Economics, 48 (5) (September 2017): 573-586.

B. Paudel, C. Chan, J. Halbrendt, S.E. Crow, T.J.K. Radovich, and G. Norton, Bioeconomic optimization of conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS) for smallholder tribal farmers in the hill region of Nepal, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 71 (2) (March-April 2016): 103-117.

Norton , George W., Jeffrey Alwang, and William A. Masters, The Economics of Agricultural Development: World Food Systems and Resource Use, 3rd Edition, Oxon, UK, Routledge Press, 2015

Norton, George W., Hunger and Hope: Escaping Poverty and Achieving Food Security in Developing Countries, Blacksburg, VA: Waveland Press, 2014.

Carrion Yaguana, Vanessa, Jeffrey Alwang, George Norton, and Victor Barrera, Does IPM Have Staying Power? Revisiting a Potato-producing Area Years After, Journal of Agricultural Economics, in press.

Zeng, Di, Jeffrey Alwang, George W. Norton, Bekele Shiferaw, Moti Jaleta, and Chilot Yirga, Agricultural Technology Adoption and Child Nutrition Enhancement: Improved Maize Varieties in Rural Ethiopia, Agricultural Economics, in press.

Zeng, Di, Jeffrey Alwang, George W. Norton, Bekele Shiferaw, Moti Jaleta, and Chilot Yirga, Ex-Post Impacts of Improved Maize Varieties on Poverty in Rural Ethiopia, Agricultural Economics, 46 (2015): 515-526.

Vaiknoras, K., G.W. Norton, and J. Alwang, Farmer Preferences for Attributes of Conservation Agriculture in Eastern Uganda. African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, June 2015, 158-173.

Bonabona-Wabbi, Jackline, Daniel B. Taylor, and George W. Norton, Willingness to Pay to Avoid Consumption of Pesticide Residues in Uganda: An Experimental Approach, African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 9 (3): (2014): 226-238.

Myrick, Stephanie, George W. Norton, K.N. Selvaraj, Kiruthika Natarajan, and R. Muniappan, Economic Impact of Classical Biological Control of Papaya Mealybug in India, Journal of Crop Protection, 56 (February 2014): 82-86.

Harris, Leah, George W. Norton, A.N.M. Rezaul Karim, Jeffrey Alwang, and Daniel B. Taylor, Bridging the Information Gap with Cost-Effective Dissemination Strategies: The Case of Integrated Pest Management in Bangladesh, Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 45 (4) (2013): 639-654.

Sparger, J. Adam, George W. Norton, Paul W. Heisey, and Jeffrey Alwang, Is the Share of Maintenance Research Rising in the United States?, Food Policy, 38 (February 2013): 126-135.

Nguema, Abigail, George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang, Daniel B. Taylor, Victor Barrera, and Michael Bertelsen, Farm Level Impacts of Conservation Agriculture in Ecuador, Experimental Agriculture, 49 (1) (January 2013): 134-147.

Sparger, J. Adam, Jeffrey Alwang, George W. Norton, Mauricio Rivera, and Donald Breazeale, Designing an IPM Research Strategy to Benefit Poor Producers and Consumers in Honduras, Journal of Integrated Pest Management, 2(3)(December 2011):1-9.

Chala, Zelalem, George Norton and Jason Grant. "Economic Significance of Selective Export promotion for Poverty Reduction and Inter-Industry Growth of Ethiopia: Policy Analysis Based on a case Study of Cut-flower and Coffee Industries", Ethiopian Journal of Business and Economics, 2(1) (2011): 34-59.

Nguema, Abigail, George W. Norton, Martin Fregene, Richard Sayre, and Mark Manary, Expected economic benefits of meeting nutritional needs through bio-fortified cassava in Nigeria and Kenya, African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, (2011): 70-86.

Rakshit, Atanu, A.N.M. Rezaul Karim, Tatjana Hristovska, and George W. Norton, Impact Assessment of Pheromone Traps to Manage Fruit Fly on Sweet Gourd Cultivation, Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Research, 36 (2) (2011): 197-203

Alwang, Jeffrey and George W. Norton, “What Types of Safety Nets Would be Most Efficient and Effective for Protecting Small Farmers and the poor Against Volatile Food Prices?” Journal of Food Security: 3 (Suppl 1) (2011): S139- S148.

Norton, George W., Jeffrey Alwang, and William A. Masters, The Economics of Agricultural Development: World Food Systems and Resource Use, Oxon, UK, Routledge Press, 2010, 466 pp.

Bayer, Jessica, George W. Norton, and Jose Falck-Zepeda, “Cost Compliance with Biotechnology Regulation in the Philippines: Implications for Developing Countries,” AgBioForum: 13 (1) (2010): 53-62

Rudi, Nderim, George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang, and Godwin Asumugha, “Economic Impact Analysis of Marker-Assisted Breeding for Resistance to Pests and Post Harvest Deterioration in Cassava,” African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 4 (2010) (2): 110-122.

Alpuerto, Vida-LinaEsperanza B., George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang, and Abdelbagi M. Ismail, “Economic Impact Analysis of Marker-Assisted Breeding for Tolerance to Salinity and Phosphorous Deficiency in Rice,” Review of Agricultural Economics, 31 (2009): 779-792.

Raitzer David, and George W. Norton. Prioritizing Agricultural Research for Development: Experience and Lessons, New York: CABI, 2009.

Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob, George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang, Monayem Miah, and Gershon Feder, “Cost Effectiveness of Alternative IPM Extension Methods: An Example from Bangladesh,” Review of Agricultural Economics, 30 (2008): 252-269.

Mauceri, Maria, Jeffrey Alwang, George W. Norton, and Victor Barrera, “Adoption of Integrated Pest Management Technologies: A Case Study of Potato Farmers in Carchi, Ecuador, Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 30 (December 2007): 765-780.

Moyo, Sibusiso, George W. Norton, Jeffrey Alwang, Ingrid Rhinehart, and C. Michael Deom, “Peanut Research and Poverty Reduction: Impacts of Variety Improvement to Control Peanut Viruses in Uganda,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 89, 2(May 2007):448-460.