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F
rom the Chairperson
At the MSU Spring commencement ceremonies, we had the opportunity to congratulate and bid farewell to many of our students who now embark on a new adventure away from the routines of learning in a university environment. As I shook hands and congratulated about 200 AFRE students who had just received their hard-earned diplomas, I couldn't help but wonder what the future holds and where their professional careers might stand a decade from now.
While the specifics of their future paths may be unknown to me, I'm confident that they have been well prepared and they have the potential for a bright future. Their interactions with our faculty, in and outside, the classroom have helped build excellent skills and invaluable experiences that will propel them to successful careers like the AFRE alumni who came before them. Congratulations to the class of 2016!
The past year has seen great accomplishments by AFRE faculty, staff and students. After several new faculty hires in the 2015-16 academic year, we are excited to begin searching for two new faculty members with research/Extension/teaching appointments in 1) farm management and 2) agricultural/food marketing.
We also have a transition in administrative leadership in AFRE, as we welcome Rick Horan as the new associate chair and director of graduate programs (effective May 16, 2016). Special thanks are due to Scott Swinton for doing an excellent job over the past five years in leading our graduate programs. Under his leadership, the quality and visibility of our graduate programs have taking a major step forward.
AFRE faculty received significant recognition and awards this year, strengthening our national reputation and visibility. We are proud of several colleagues who are actively engaged in key leadership roles in the agricultural and applied economics profession (e.g., journal editors and editorial boards, section and committee chairs, association board of directors, and academic review panels, etc.). For example, many AFRE faculty serve in key roles the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA), our premier professional association:
- Scott Swinton: president-elect, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA)
- Saweda Liverpool-Taste: chair-elect, AAEA Africa Section
- Nicky Mason: secretary-treasurer, AAEA Africa Section
- Songqing Jin: chair, AAEA China Section
- Titus Awokuse: chair-elect, AAEA National Association of Agricultural Economics Administrators (NAAEA) Section; member, C-FARE, AAEA's Priorities and Solutions Steering Committee
- Melinda Smale, chair-elect, AAEA's International Section
We are on the right track and forging forward. Our department is a national and global leader in developing a new generation of T-shaped students who know their discipline well, and are equipped to branch out to others in innovative ways. Such students are prepared for successful careers and professional leadership. Also, there is clear evidence of gains in our national rankings, reputation, and impact. We experienced significant growth in research productivity and quality of our academic programs, attracting more competitive grants from diverse sources.
As we proceed with our current strategic planning process, we have an opportunity to evaluate our progress, refine our goals, and explore specific strategies for moving forward. Let us take some time to enjoy the summer season and return for the next academic year with renewed vigor and commitment to building a stronger department.
Titus Awokuse
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Jeffrey Bloem
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Blogging may not on the top of most applied economists' lists of priorities, if it even makes those lists at all.
But graduate research assistant Jeffrey Bloem thinks more applied economists-particularly those doing policy relevant research-should consider it.
Bloem blogs at
his personal Wordpress site: https://jeffbloem.wordpress.com. In addition to writing about his own research, he has posts about relevant links he likes, thoughts on economic and research concepts and book reviews. The blog entries offer a glimpse into Bloem's work distilled into a light, readable format.
He sees that aspect of blogging as particularly important for applied economists.
"If the only outputs that we're getting from these [projects] are these really dense journal articles that if we're lucky, 50-100 people read," Bloem says, "I just think it's a big waste of time and effort and money."
For Bloem, blogging is an important step in "popularizing" research and getting it "onto the desks of those who need to read it." In fact, he has
blogged about why he thinks more applied economists should blog.
Twice.
Chief among the benefits of academic blogging, Bloem says, is more exposure. He added that if more applied economists can take lessons learned in their process and condense them to short blog posts, "there's a better chance for those things to be applied."
Bloem recognizes that blogging isn't for every applied economist, but, he says, "It's not a waste of time. In fact, it's a time saver."
One way blogging has saved time for Bloem is that it's made him a better writer. He clearly articulates his points more quickly now that he's always practicing writing.
"The way to get better at writing is to just keep writing," Bloem says. Writing about academic work outside of the journal article format can be helpful.
When he's not extolling the benefits of academic blogging, Bloem
conducts research related to development economics. He's done work in Ghana and Kenya and on the migration patterns of refugees resettled in the United States. Right now, he's doing research in Myanmar, exploring the economics of hope.
"We want to understand how folks in rural areas perceive the future-how do they believe that future events will happen?" Bloem says.
The notion is that a positive or negative perception of the future will impact farmers' decisions in the present.
"If the future looks gloomy, you may not want to think about it very much," Bloem says. "But not thinking about the future will kind of prohibit your ability to make investments."
His research is employing psychological survey instruments used to measure hope, self-efficacy and locus of control to help understand how farmers' attitudes about the future are influencing their decision making. Ultimately, Bloem hopes those findings will help tailor agricultural extension programs in the future.
by
Marie Orttenburger
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Eduardo Nakasone
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Nakasone Uses Information Technology to Reach Farmers
In rural areas of developing countries, information can move slowly. For farmers in those countries, this speed has consequences for their business decisions.
Things have gotten better for rural farmers in developing countries since then, but there remains room for improvement. That is what much of Nakasone's research addresses
Nakasone arrived at MSU in 2015 with a joint appointment in AFRE and Media and Information. He received his bachelor's degree in economics from the Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru, after which he got a job at the International Food and Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), where he retains a research affiliation. He went on to receive his master's and doctoral degrees in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Maryland.
Nakasone's research investigates how information affects household choices through the use of information communication technologies (ICTs). It runs the gamut from seeing how videos might encourage children to take iron supplements when they log on to the Internet, to determining how soap operas might help train female Latin American microentrepreneurs.
Much of his research involves agricultural extension-investigating how the availability of certain information impacts the decisions made by farmers in rural areas of developing countries.
"Getting this timely market price information--which is costly to acquire in a rural area of a developing country--how does that change their sales behavior?" Nakasone says in describing his research. For example, do they change their bargaining behavior or the markets where they choose to sell?
"Ultimately, the question is: Are they better able to get good prices for their crops, which translates to better income and better household welfare?" he says.
How best to deliver this information is one of the issues Nakasone is exploring. While ICTs have proven useful in a number of contexts, Nakasone acknowledged that some situations preclude effective use of the technologies.
"You're trying to get agricultural extension by computer to a 60-year-old head of household in a rural area of a developing country who has never seen a computer in his entire life? Good luck with that!" Nakasone says.
One answer to this problem that Nakasone is investigating is how to use farm children as messengers of useful information.
"Governments in developing countries are increasing both computer and Internet access in public high schools. That is a trend that's been going on for a while," Nakasone says. "What if you could give the extension advice to high school teenagers?"
So his research group developed a way to provide relevant agricultural advice to some teenagers and then they check in with the teenagers' parents a year later to see if their practices change.
"[We asked:] is the information being transmitted from teenagers to their parents? And then, are parents changing their behavior? And then finally, does that lead to better household welfare?"
Nakasone says he is particularly happy to do this work in MSU's environment of easy cross-department discussions and abundant international research.
"I have the opportunity to interact on a regular basis with people from two departments, so that's really inspiring," Nakasone says. "You're constantly bombarded by ideas from people who are doing really, really neat work."
by Marie Orttenburger
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Undergrad Program Makeover
The curriculum for undergraduate majors in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics (AFRE) has a fresh face after receiving a makeover that kicked off in July 2015.
Students in the new program can expect to graduate better prepared to solve problems and meet the high expectations of their prospective employers.
The new curriculum focuses on analytical reasoning and experiential learning. Students majoring in
Agribusiness Management (ABM),
Food Industry Management (FIM), and
Environmental Economics and Management (EEM) must take two new courses focused on decision making and data interpretation. They must also participate in one of three learning experiences, including professional internship, study abroad or undergraduate research.
A special committee, chaired by
Brent Ross, designed the curriculum based on information collected from focus groups with employers, surveys of students and alumni and review of similar programs at other universities.
"We found employers are giving great weight to internship experience," says
David Schweikhardt, professor in AFRE.
Employers often offer full-time jobs to interns, and alumni reported that internships helped them get more out of their classes.
"Alumni told us: 'I looked at my coursework differently after doing an internship,'" Schweikhardt says.
Hands-on learning experiences, like internships, both supplement student learning and allow students to tailor their degrees to their interests. So AFRE has made them a requirement.
Employers also reported a desire for graduates to be better equipped in quantitative, analytical thinking. They need students to be able to manipulate data and make economically sound business decisions.
The new curriculum responds to this need with two new courses that mainstream foundational economic ideas (ABM/FIM/EEP 303) and data analysis skills (ABM/FIM/EEP 203) into the department's business management curriculum. The courses will be required of all majors.
The undergraduate program changes coincide with larger college curriculum changes that align course activities with student learning objectives. AFRE Associate Chairperson Jim Hilker says he expects to continue tweaking these changes align with evolving university standards.
by Marie Orttenburger
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People and Awards
Faculty and Staff News
New hires
Vincenzina Caputo
joined the department as an assistant professor on Feb. 1, 2016. She moved from Korea University, where she was assistant professor in the department of agricultural and resource economics.
David DeYoung
joined the
Food Security Group
this spring as a specialist-outreach.
Stephanie Lelo
joined
Telfarm
this spring as a specialist-outreach.
Raul Pitoro
joined the
Food Security Group
this spring as a research associate.
Ayala Wineman
joined the
Food Security Group
in January as an assistant professor with a focus on international development.
Changed responsibilities and achievements
Richard Horan
became AFRE associate chair and director of graduate studies on May 16, 2016. He replaced
Scott Swinton
, who had held that post since January 2011.
Duncan Boughton
moved to Myanmar in January, 2016, as project director for
Myanmar activities
under the USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Security Policy (FSP). He stepped down as director of FSP Innovation Lab in January and subsequently as co-director of the Food Security Group in May 2016.
Nick Sitko
relocated from Lusaka, Zambia, to work on campus in April 2016.
Former AFRE faculty member
Nango Dembele
(MSU PhD 1994) was named minister of livestock and fisheries of Mali on January 5, 2016. Previously, Dr. Dembele was the Food Security Commissioner of Mali.
Faculty and Staff Awards
Eric Crawford
received the Graduate Program Coordinator's Decennial Award for Outstanding Graduate Advising at the AFRE annual faculty meeting on May 13, 2016.
Scott Loveridge
received the 2016 Award for Excellence in Extension Outreach at the AFRE annual faculty meeting on May 13, 2016.
Frank Lupi
received the 2016 Award for Excellence in Service and the Graduate Program Coordinator's Decennial Award for Outstanding Graduate Advising at the AFRE annual faculty meeting on May 13, 2016.
Nicole Mason
received the 2016 Award for Excellence in Research at the AFRE annual faculty meeting on May 13, 2016.
Bob Myers
received the 2016 Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Graduate Program Coordinator's Decennial Award for Outstanding Graduate Advising at the AFRE annual faculty meeting on May 13, 2016.
Scott Swinton
received the 2016 Award for Excellence in Service at the AFRE annual faculty meeting on May 13, 2016.
Student Awards
Awa Sanou
won the department's Best Master's Thesis Award of 2015 for Technology Adoption when Risk Attitudes Matter: Evidence from Incentivized Field Experiments in Niger (major prof: S. Liverpool-Tasie).
Ayala Wineman
won the department's Best Ph.D. Dissertation Award of 2015 for Essays on Land Access in Kagera, Tanzania: Markets, Migration, and Bequests. (major prof: S. Liverpool-Tasie).
Mary Doidge
won the award for Best Presentation of Research at the Idea Stage at the 2016 Graduate Research Symposium for her Ph.D. research presentation, "The Potential Role of Regret in Land Conversion Decisions."
Mary Doidge was awarded a 2016 ESPP Climate, Food, Energy and Water Summer Research Fellowship for her summer research project entitled, "A behavioral approach to land use changes in North and South Dakota."
Jeffrey Bloem
won the award for Best Presentation of Research in Progress at the 2016 Graduate Research Symposium for his M.S. research presentation, "Measuring Hope: An Empirical Approach with Validation from Rural Myanmar."
Florencia Colella
won the award for Best Presentation of Completed Research at the 2016 Graduate Research Symposium for her M.S. research presentation, "Consumer Preferences for Retail Channel and Beef Steak Attributes: Experimental Evidence from Argentinean Consumers."
Maolong Chen won second place in the 2015-16 Shao Chang Lee Best Graduate Student Paper Competition of the MSU Asian Studies Center for his master's research paper, "Emerging Markets for U.S. Pork in China: Experimental Evidence from Mainland and Hongkong Consumers."
Henry Akaeze
and Assa Dembele were awarded Dissertation Completion Fellowships for Summer 2016 by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
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AFRE Alumni News
1960's
Dana Dalrymple (PhD 1962), author of
Artemisia annua, Artemisinin, ACTs & Malaria Control in Africa: Tradition, Science and Public Policy (2013). In November, 2015, he received the
Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Agriculture & and Life Sciences at Cornell (BS 1954, MS 1956).
1990's
Nango Dembele (PhD 1994) was named minister of livestock and fisheries of Mali on January 5, 2016. Previously, Dembele was the Food Security Commissioner of Mali. On March 23, 2016, he received the 2016 Joon S. Moon Distinguished International Alumni Award from MSU International Studies and Programs.
Berhanu Gebremedhin (PhD 1998) was named principal scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
2000's
Daniel Ortega-Pacheco (MS 2007) was appointed minister of environment by President Rafael Correa of Ecuador in December, 2015.
2010's
Serge Adjognon (PhD expected) begins work as
Impact Evaluation Economist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank on June 1.
Craig Carpenter (PhD 2016) begins work as Assistant Professor and Extension Economist at
Texas A&M University on June 6.
Li Cheng (PhD expected) begins work as Research Scientist at Amazon.com on June 1.
Daniel Gough (MS 2016) took the position of Environmental Quality Analyst at the
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in Lansing, MI, beginning in April 11, 2016.
Kimmie Klaiman (MS 2015) took the position of Industry Economist at the
Energy Information Administration, U.S. Dept. of Energy, in Washington, DC, beginning in January, 2016.
Gi-Eu Lee (PhD 2015) begins work as Post-Doctoral Researcher in
Economics, University of Nevada-Reno on July 1.
Shan Ma (PhD 2011) took a position as Vice President for Marketing at
The Apollo Box in Mountain View, CA, on March 22, 2016.
Leah Palm-Forster (PhD 2015) was elected Chair-Elect of the AAEA
Committee on Women in Agricultural Economics (CWAE) in May 2016.
Leonard Polzin (MS 2016) took the position of Extension Economist at the
Center for Farm Financial Management, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, beginning April 25, 2016.
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Masthead
A
dvancing Economics, Transforming Lives
is the quarterly newsletter of the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University (
http://www.afre.msu.edu/
).
Editor: |
Scott M. Swinton |
Writer: |
Marie Orttenburger
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Assistant Editor: |
Debbie Conway |
Editing Assistance: |
Eileen Gianiodis & Fran Adelaja |
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