Economics Research Group
The Economics Research Group conducts research and policy analysis in a multidisciplinary setting, taking advantage of opportunities presented by new research programmes to extend our interests beyond our areas of historical strength in agriculture and food. It now also researches in the areas of health, biotechnology and the rural environment. Our research concerns and takes place in both developed and developing economies and has a strong policy orientation that involves interaction with national and international bodies, both private and public. The group contains a strong core of quantitative economists and also includes expertise in operational research and socio-psychology. In all of our work we develop and apply state of the art methods. Individuals maintain and share analytical skills which are at the frontiers of their discipline.
- At the farm level work on the economics of animal health and welfare (Bennett) has examined public attitudes towards, and valuation of, farm animal welfare and evaluated the costs of diseases on UK farms. Farmer attitudes towards the adoption of new technology and alternative enterprises in the UK and Pakistan have been explored using the socio-psychological framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Garforth, Rehman). Research has identified factors discouraging market participation in Ethiopia (Holloway).
- Work on Agricultural Policy has presented the case for alternative forms of decoupled payments to farmers (Tranter). Work on CAP reform and the WTO process of agricultural trade liberalisation (Swinbank) has led to invitations to speak at conferences or workshops in Australia, the US, and Botswana, as well as throughout Europe. Research has also been conducted into the role of agriculture in the process of development (Tiffin ).
- Our work on the Environment has examined energy use in alternative farming systems, issues associated with flood management (Bailey), the impacts of elevated Ozone levels on crop production and profitability (Shankar), valuation of countryside access (Tranter) and consumer valuation of reduced pesticide use (Balcombe).
- Research on the economics and social aspects of Genetic Modification has focussed on issues associated with their adoption and the impact thereof on productivity in India and South Africa (Bennett, Shankar). Work has also been conducted on the effects of alternative models of plant breeder property rights (Srinivasan) and on Consumer attitudes to these technologies in the US and EU (Traill).
- Our Food Economics research has examined the levels of trust placed by consumers in, and response to, differing sources of information regarding food safety in the EU. This work has also been conducted from psychological and economic perspectives (Traill). Work has been conducted on the relationship between economic development and supermarket penetration (Traill) and on the extension of food demand estimation methods (Tiffin).
- In econometrics we have developed methods within both the Bayesian and Classical paradigms including: genetic algorithms to assist in model selection (Balcombe); a method which allows a random censoring point in the Tobit model (Holloway); a treatment of misreporting in choice models and the estimation of Almost Ideal Demand Systems with integrated data (Tiffin, Balcombe).
Research Links
Implications of A Nutrition-Driven Food Policy for Land Use and the Rural Environment