Areas of Study:
- Economic impacts of policies supporting U.S. farm to school programs
- Food security and dietary quality effects of urban food policies
- Economic analysis of alcoholic beverage industry and related marketing
Deadlines: application deadline is February 15, 2018, start date is May - August 2018.
Contact: Chris Goemans, Chair of the Graduate Program, (970) 491-7261, chris.goemans@
The
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (DARE) at Colorado
State University has openings for at least 3 PhD/MS students in
different specialty areas within the broad umbrella of the
economics of food systems. Specifically, we are recruiting for students
interested in supporting the three following new/ongoing research
areas:
· Economic impacts of policies supporting U.S. farm to school program. An
ongoing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of
Food and Agriculture (NIFA) funded research project in the
Department is evaluating: 1) farm and ranch profitability impacts of
sales through these markets (preliminary results using state-level
policy data shows that these policies matter); 2) spillover impacts to
household purchases at retail grocery stores resulting
from farm to school programs; and 3) changes in levels of students’
consumptions of fruits and vegetables based on local procurement. The
selected student would augment this work by building a database of
Federal, State, and Philanthropic grants supporting
K-12 farm to school programming in the U.S. (including the possibility
of a Washington DC based internship). Once built, the database will
enable to research team to investigate how policies, and specifically
grant dollars, impact the success of these programs.
Primary supervisors: Dr. Bonanno, Dr. Jablonski, Dr. Thilmany.
· Food security and dietary quality effects of urban food policies
As consumers become
more interested in their food and its origin, urban communities are
increasingly integrating food into mainstream planning and policymaking.
We are looking for a graduate student to work closely
with a team of inter-disciplinary researchers to understand how
households’ food security and dietary quality may be affected by urban
policies and programs. Part of this work, funded from the Foundation for
Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR), will involve
collecting data, and modeling household purchasing decisions, and their
response to key proposed interventions.
Primary supervisors: Dr. Bonanno, Dr. Jablonski, Dr. Thilmany,
· Economic analysis of alcoholic beverage industry and related marketing
Alcoholic beverage
industries have been experiencing tremendous growth and transformation
to their marketing channels. This is especially prevalent within the
craft beer industry, which has grown at an exponential rate
over the past decade. Graduate students in this field have the
opportunity to examine a variety of issues such as: the impact of state
and federal policies on alcohol sales and distribution; changing market
structure and marketing tactics; and the growth of
related industries (e.g. input materials and retail distribution).
Colorado State is well-positioned to support such research with its new
established Liquid Arts Research Forum (LARF), a multi-disciplinary
collaboration working with industry leaders.
Primary supervisors: Dr. Berning, Dr. Bonanno, Dr. Costanigro
Within
each of these topic areas, the selected students will work closely with
an inter-disciplinary team of faculty involved in applied research. The
student will develop
a skillset in the areas of applied policy analysis and micro
econometric modeling. Additionally, the selected students may have the
opportunity to perform both primary data collection as well as empirical
analyses of secondary, restricted-access data. Direct
interaction with diverse stakeholders will provide an opportunity to
understand and evaluate the importance of applied research for effective
policy recommendations. To learn more about these initiatives, please
visit: http://foodsystems.
Requirements: strong
candidates will possess an innate curiosity and a passion for
studying the economics of food systems. Students should have the desire
and ability to develop their quantitative skills (including
econometric), microeconomic foundations, and relevant policy analysis.
Previous research experience, excellent written and oral
communication, organizational skills, ability to work independently,
and experience in any segment of the food system are desirable.
Graduate assistantship includes:
· 2-4 years of a competitive stipend, commensurate with the student’s experience and engagement in research
· 2-3 years of full tuition support
· Full medical insurance
· Potential for summer salary and travel funds to cover costs for academic conferences.
The
student will be responsible for required graduate fees. CSU is an
EO/EA/AA employer and conducts background checks on all final
candidates.
The graduate program in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at CSU We
offer rigorous coursework,
coupled with training in applied research and an emphasis on close
collaborations between faculty and students. Most of our students are
directly involved in grants and projects in cooperation with government
agencies and industry stakeholders.
Specific information about the program can be found at http://dare.agsci.