The predicted effects of climate change call for methods to assess the performance of agricultural systems across economic, environmental, and social dimensions over different spatial and temporal scales. For research and development to have an impact on system efficiency, potential impacts of climate change and adaptation strategies need to be...
Extreme weather events are expected to increase globally due to climate change thereby posing substantial risks to agricultural communities. The implications are especially high for tropical countries like India as the heavy dependence of agricultural sector to uncertain monsoons makes its agriculture highly vulnerable to weather variability and extremes. In...
This paper models the supply curve of carbon sequestration on Pacific Northwest rangelands. Rangeland managers have the ability to sequester carbon in agricultural soils by implementing alternative management practices on their farms. Their low adoption rate in practice suggests a high opportunity cost associated with their implementation. To increase their...
Technological growth in agriculture increases crop output but it could lower output price in the market. Economic impact assessment in ex-ante analysis usually does not include these indirect supply responses, which can overestimate the economic potential of new technology. This dissertation provides an integrated farm-level ex-ante impact assessment model to...
Increased temperature and precipitation variability and frequent extreme weather events due to climate change pose a threat to farming operations and agricultural communities. The recent IPCC assessment shows that the projected climate change will, on average, reduce wheat yields by 5% in temperate regions without adaptation and even more if...
Development research and policy aim to improve household welfare by improving access to assets and economic opportunities (Besley & Burgess 2000; Deininger et al. 2003). In rural and agrarian contexts, these goals may be achieved by well-functioning markets for outputs, inputs, off-farm work, and credit. The status of these markets...
Assessment studies have summarized the literature on global food security and projected impacts of climate and other major drivers of regional and global change in the 21st Century (IPCC, USDA). Additionally, the Agricultural Model Inter-comparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) is working to develop new coordinated global and regional assessments of...
My dissertation title is, “Applied economic strategies to evaluate policies and environmental outcomes: case studies from immigration and ecosystem services.” The first two chapters of this dissertation concern the relationship between local immigration policies and societal welfare. The third chapter examines the impact of human activity on the environment and...
Climate change affects the choice of land-use not only through its direct effect on the productive potential of land, but also through human actions that alter the landscape. In this dissertation, I estimate current climate's effect on the economic net returns to alternative land-use systems in the United States. Then...
Fossil fuels have been the main source of energy for a long period but due to growing concerns over climate change, oil depletion and energy security, the development of renewable sources of energy such as biofuels have been flourishing over the past few decades. Despite the fact that biofuels are...