Research
Research with impact
Our faculty maintain research programs that address a wide array of topics that impact both Virginians and people around the world.
Research is conducted in five broad areas:
- Agribusiness, risk management, and policy
- Environmental and natural resource economics
- Food and health economics
- International development and trade
- Rural and regional development
Agribusiness, Risk Management, and Policy
Focusing on tools for business decision-making. Topics addressed include rapidly changing technology and consumer preferences, impacts from the production, distribution, marketing, and sales of agricultural goods, and the demand for safe and affordable food.
Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Focusing on the economic impact of environmental and resource problems. Topics include the interdependence between human economics and natural ecosystems and the sustainable management of resources for future generations.
Food and Health Economics
Focusing on economic determinants of food choices and associated health outcomes with implications for policy design and effectiveness. Topics include policy implications of ignoring time allocation decisions in food choices, evaluation of financial incentives to reduce weight, and cost-effectiveness evaluation of nutrition and health education programs.
International Development and Trade
Focusing on economic analysis to improve international development and trade policies through a wide array of topics including methods for measuring poverty and inequality, evaluation of public policies for poverty reduction and economic growth, interactions between environment, health and development, methods for measuring technical change, the political economy of trade, imperfect competition and intra-industry trade, and the monetary aspects of international trade.
Rural and Regional Development
Focusing on factors and policies affecting economic prospects, poverty, and inequality in rural areas and across regions. Topics include energy insecurity and food insecurity in rural America, the evaluation of the welfare impacts of food stamps on rural households, social assistance program targeting strategies, and the local and regional economic impacts of rural policies and programs.