George Davis
Location:
250 Drillfield Dr.304 Hutcheson Hall
Blacksburg, VA 24060
I hold a joint appointment in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise. My research generally focuses on food demand, health outcomes, econometrics, and methodology. While I work on a variety of issues related to food and nutrition, my primary focus is on understanding how nutrition policies and time allocation interact to influence nutrient intake and diet quality.
Expertise:
Agricultural economics; agricultural trade and policy analysis; applied econometrics and economic analytics; food and health economics; professional M.S. program; labor economics
Education
Ph.D. Economics, North Carolina State University, 1991
M.S. Agricultural Economics, Clemson University, 1986
B.S. Agricultural Economics, Clemson University, 1983
Current Projects
I am currently working on using more informative measures of ‘food poverty’ in evaluating how well individuals are reaching nutrition targets, to what extent recent revisions in the SNAP program have helped, and to what extent there are differences across socioeconomic and demographic groups. I also continue to work on the many implications of time constraints on nutrient intake and diet quality. |
Currently Teaching
- Ph.D. - Food and Health Microeconomics AAEC 6214
- MS/BS - Food, Nutrition, and Health Economics AAEC 4814
- MS - Contemporary Issues and Responses in Food Systems AAEC 5904
Previously Taught
- Ph.D.
- Food and Health Microeconomics AAEC 6214
- Applied Econometric Methods AGEC 661 (Texas A&M)
- Consumer Demand Analysis AGEC 635 (Texas A&M)
- Research Methodology AGEC 520 (Texas A&M)
- MS
- Food, Nutrition, and Health Economics AAEC 4814 (Virginia Tech)
- Applied Microeconomics AAEC 5026
- BS
- Food, Nutrition, and Health Economics AAEC 4814 (Virginia Tech)
- Agricultural Price Analysis AGEC 447 (Texas A&M)
Experience
- Professor. Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, Virginia Tech. (August, 2007 – Present).
- Assistant to Professor. Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University. (December, 1995-August, 2007).
Awards
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* indicates graduate student
Welcome Intrepid Scholar,
This webpage contains supplementary material associated with the 2016 Oxford University Press book Food and Nutrition Economics: Fundamentals for Health Sciences winner of the 2017 AAEA Quality of Communication Award. This page currently has two items: (i) question bank and (ii) math review document. Below is a little description of each. All files will be in a WORD format so they can easily be copied, saved, and altered to your desires.
Question Bank
I generally structure my tests with 15 multiple choice, two short answer, and one discussion question. Tests will usually cover on average of about two chapters. Given the audience and the subject matter (especially the economics later on) I have found that having a majority of rather softball (regurgitation) multiple choice questions sets a relaxed tone for the student, who then has some confidence going into the more challenging short answer and discussion questions. Thus, the short answer and discussion questions are designed to generate the grade dispersion (i.e., separate As from the Bs, etc.).
For each chapter there are four types of questions:
(i) The thought break questions from the chapter
(ii) Multiple choice questions
(iii) Short answer questions
(iv) Discussion questions
The thought break questions are included here because I will often use verbatim at least one thought break question from the book on a quiz or test to send a signal that there is a reward to be obtained by working these problems as they read the chapter.
Given the structure of economics it is very easy to make up very different questions with very different answers by just changing a few words within a question, especially verbs, such as increase to decrease. Thus these questions cover the most important concepts and provide a template for many variations of the questions simply by changing a few words.
Chapter 1 Questions
Chapter 2 Questions
Chapter 3 Questions
Chapter 4 Questions
Chapter 5 Questions
Chapter 6 Questions
Chapter 7 Questions
Chapter 8 Questions
Chapter 9 Questions
Chapter 10 Questions
Chapter 11 Questions
Chapter 12 Questions
Chapter 13 Questions
Chapter 14 Questions
Chapter 15 Questions
Chapter 16 Questions
Math Review
The math review document covers all the mathematical and graphical concepts needed for the book, but goes into more detail and gives rather general principles. As this document has several graphs and equations, it is given in a PDF format to avoid formatting errors that can occur when moving between different text software or versions.
Why No Power Points?
After teaching this course for a decade, I am 98.32% confident J that the least effective way to teach the material is “power point flipping.” As explained in the book, economics is a framework for thinking. It is a toolkit for organizing and analyzing the interaction of different variables. It is a conceptual calculator. It should not be viewed as a list of facts or findings. Students who approach it as memorizing a list of facts do not do well.
The best way to learn how to use a tool is to use the tool, not have someone show you the tool and just talk about using the tool. If I was teaching you to become a carpenter and I wanted you to learn how to use a hammer, I wouldn’t just show you a picture of a hammer and a nail and then explain how to hammer. No, I would do that, but then I would also give you a hammer and some nails and tell you to practice hammering nails and then work with you on improving your hammering. The same concept applies to learning economics. The best way to learn economics is to do economics, not read about economic findings. It is one thing to see the mountain. It is quite another to climb the mountain. The map is not the journey.
The main tool for understanding and applying economics at this level is drawing and manipulating graphs. Students need to practice – a lot – drawing, manipulating, and interpreting graphs, especially if they have not had much economics in the past. Consequently, I have found the most effective way to teach the material and graphs is to use what is effectively a fancy overhead projector and draw the graphs from the book for the students in class. I do not just show them a graph, but I actually draw the graph, explaining why the graph is drawn a certain way as it is being drawn. The main concept, graph, and or math, is then applied and extended through a real world example that we as a class analyze together.
So for example, if I am going over the analytics of convenience and time, the students are expected to have read the chapter (Chapter 6) and I will briefly go over the main concepts drawing the main graphs. After this, we will spend most of the class applying the concepts to real world examples such as
Q. Suppose you have a nutrition-counseling client who was assigned to a new job site that is 20 minutes further away than the current job site. What do you expect this to do to their diet quality given what we know about food away from home versus food at home? (Analysis location: Chapter 6: Convenience and Time)
Thus, a Socratic or “flipped” teaching style works well once the foundations are understood and demonstrated. The best students, and the ones that get the most out of the class, practice drawing the graphs in class and take interpretation notes.
Please email me, George Davis, or Elena Serrano if you have any questions.