2016 Annual Meeting

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Invited Paper Sessions

Invited Paper sessions are selected by the AAEA President and two additional Board members based on proposals submitted by AAEA members. These sessions are chosen because they may appeal to a broad spectrum of meeting attendees, further the development and dissemination of systematic knowledge in the field of agricultural and applied economics, and/or generate meaningful conversation. Invited Paper sessions generally involve 2-3 paper presentations and ample opportunity for discussion.  Invited papers may also be published in the proceedings issue of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Invited Paper Sessions are concurrent sessions. Each concurrent session is 90 minutes in duration. Other concurrent sessions include, Selected Paper Sessions, Lightning Sessions, Organized Symposia, Track Sessions, and Invited Case Study Session.

Optimal Food Waste: A Theoretical and Empirical Foundation

Resource and Environmental Policy Analysis

Globally, one-third of all food products, $1 trillion annually, is lost or wasted in food production and consumption. Various governmental policies and programs can mitigate food waste, but a sound economic theory and empirical hypothesis testing is required for achieving efficiency. The current implicit literature path has an objective of zero food waste. However, economic theory indicates some optimal level of food waste. The aim is to establish a theoretical and empirical foundation for shifting the literature toward an economically efficient food waste trajectory. Only then can we develop economically efficient policies.

Organizers: Jean Buzby, USDA-Economic Research Service; Harry De Gorter, Cornell University; Bhagyashree Katare, Purdue University; Brian Roe, Ohio State University, Mark Rosegrant, IFPRI, and Michael Wetzstein, Purdue University
Moderator: Jean Buzby, USDA-Economic Research Service
Discussant: Harry De Gorter, Cornell University

  • Toward an Optimal Food Waste Tax
    Bhagyashree Katare, Purdue University; Dmytro Serebrennikov, Purdue University; Michael Wetzstein, Purdue University
  • The Rebound Effect of Food Waste Reduction Policies: Theory and Evidence
    Danyi Qi, Ohio State University; Brian Roe, Ohio State University
  • Returns to Investment in Reducing Postharvest Food Losses and Increasing Agricultural Productivity Growth
    Mark W. Rosegrant    , IFPRI; Eduardo Magalhaes, IFPRI; Rowena Valmonte-Santos, IFPRI; Daniel Mason-D’Croz, IFPRI

Regulatory Technology Policies: A Real Option View

Food and Agricultural Policy Analysis

Option value and the real option approach have become major tools for analysis and explanation of adoption of agricultural technologies. But these techniques can also be effective to assess the impact and timing of regulations. While the seminal Arrow and Fisher paper shows that considering option value justify to delay in regulations, the approach also allows to assess the cost and gain from delay -and can be applied to assess regularly approaches- like the delay in the approval of GMOs and other new technologies such as those reducing greenhouse gas emission.

Organizers: Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University; David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley
Moderator: David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley
Discussant: David Hennessy, Michigan State University

  • Learn about Plants: Consumer Demand, Regulatory Delay and Regulatory Restrictions
    Jinhua Zhao, Michigan State University
  • Foregone Benefits of Important Food Crop Improvements in Sub-Saharan Africa
    Richard Smart; Jennifer Thompson, University of Cape Town; Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University; David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley
  • GMfree Labels: Worth Investing? The Case of GMfree Labeled Dairy Products in Germany
    Thomas Johann Venus, Wageningen University; Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University

Frontiers of Data Science in Agricultural, Environmental, Natural Resource, and Applied Economics

Food and Agricultural Policy Analysis

Increased availability of high resolution biophysical, demographic, and economic data, coupled with dramatic increases in storage and computational capacities, are creating exciting new opportunities for data-driven scientific discovery. Adoption of state-of-the-art data-analytic tools and methods by social and biophysical scientists, and incorporation of behavioral, socioeconomic, and biophysical structure by computational scientists in "Big Data" statistical models, represent critical bottlenecks for advancing data-driven discovery. This session will explore current issues related to data-analytic platforms and methods, institutional partnerships, and prospects for applied economics researchers.

Organizers: Joshua Woodard, Cornell University; Brent Hueth, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Discussants: Katherine Smith, Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics; Thomas Sproul, University of Rhode Island

  • Advances in Data Science in Agricultural and Applied Economics
    Joshua Woodard, Cornell University
  • Food and Agricultural Industries: Opportunities for Improving Measurement and Reporting
    Brent Hueth, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Richard Dunn, University of Connecticut

Exploring Economic and Policy Frontiers at the Intersection of Resource, Regional, and Rural Economics

Resource and Environmental Policy Analysis

This session aims to stimulate a dialog among resource, regional and rural economists to assess the progress and prospects of research and policies at the intersection of resource, rural and regional economics, to discuss current on-going research, and to identify emerging topics of interest and possible directions for future research.

Organizers: Bruce Weber, Oregon State University; Junjie Wu, Oregon State University
Moderator: Bruce Weber, Oregon State University
Discussant: Maureen Kilkenny, National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy

  • A Framework for Exploring Nature-Human and Rural-Urban Interactions: Integrating Regional, Resource and Rural Economics Insights
    Junjie Wu    , Oregon State University; Bruce Weber, Oregon State University; Mark Partridge, The Ohio State University
  • Spatial-Dynamic Complexities of the Climate Challenge for Rural Areas: Integrating Resource and Regional Economic Insights
    Rebecca Epanchin-Niell, Resources for the Future; Yusuke Kuwayama, Resources for the Future; Margaret Walls, Resources for the Future
  • Protected Areas and Urban Development: The Case Study of Natural Regional Parks in France
    Thomas Coisnon, AGROCAMPUS OUEST; Julien Salanié, Université Jean Monnet

The Economics of Taxes and Marketing Restrictions to Reduce Consumption of Specific Foods and Ingredients

Food and Agricultural Policy Analysis

This session features current economic research on government interventions designed to improve health and nutrition outcomes by reducing consumption of particular foods or ingredients. The session consists of three papers and one discussant. Each of the papers contributes to the policy debate by presenting theoretical and empirical evidence on the efficacy of such policies. The paper by Grogger presents econometric evidence of the effect soda tax on prices of soda and related goods in Mexico. The paper by Wu, Balagtas, and Ledesma uses nonlinear pricing theory and experimental economics to model and measure market-equilibrium response to a restriction on soda cup size. And the paper by Requillart and Soler considers the economic effects of minimum quality standards versus taxes in oligopolistic markets. The discussant, Stephen Hamilton, is a leading expert in the industrial organization of food markets.

Discussant: Stephen Hamilton, California Polytechnic State University

  • Marketing Restrictions on Soda Bans in a Market Equilibrium
    Jose Nuno-Ledesma, Purdue University; Steven Wu, Purdue University; Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University
  • Soda Taxes and the Prices of Sodas and Other Drinks: Evidence from Mexico
    Jeffrey Grogger    , University of Chicago
  • Quality Standards vs. Nutritional Taxes: Health and Welfare Impacts with Strategic Firms
    Vincent Requillart    , Toulouse School of Economics GREMAQ – INRA and IDEI; Louis-George Soler, INRA ALISS

Economic Drivers and Consequences of Large Food Retailers’ Location

Food and Agricultural Policy Analysis

Changes in the retailing industry, including the emergence and triumph of large and non-traditional food retail formats (i.e. supercenters, wholesale clubs etc.) have multiple implications.  This invited session collects three contribution aiming to shed light on different aspects of the economics of large food store location. The first contribution uses an empirical model to measure the market threshold leading to consumers having more access to large food stores and testing the role of different policy levers.  The second examines how the growth of supercenters may have an effect on the diet of the French consumers. The third evaluates the impact of stores closing / opening on housing value, using a specific case study.

Organizer: Alessandro Bonanno, Colorado State University
Moderator and Discussant: Michele Ver Ploeg, USDA-Economic Research Service

  • Economic Drivers of Large Food Stores Access in the U.S.
    Alessandro Bonanno, Colorado State University; Rebecca Cleary, The Pennsylvania State University; Lauren Chenarides, The Pennsylvania State University; Stephan Goetz, The Pennsylvania State University
  • The Effect of Supercenters on Dietary Choices and Healthfulness of Food Purchases in France
    Gayaneh Kyureghian    , Korea University; France Caillavet, INRA ALISS; Adelaide Fadhuile, University of Grenoble; Rodolfo Nayga, University of Arkansas
  • Open-Close-Open: Evaluating the Effect of Changes in Food Access Options on Housing Prices. Evidences from New Haven, CT
    Adam Rabinowitz,     University of Connecticut; Elena Castellari, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Marcello Graziano, University of the Highlands and the Islands