Home

Announcements for Friday, March 4, 2011

Announcements

  • Office Changes

    Maria Jimena Gonzalez Ramirez is now located in room 577, no phone number, majimena@iastate.edu

    Swatilekha Bhattacharjee has left ISU, formerly in room 271, phone number was 4-6042

    Zizhen Guo is now located in room 169, phone 4-5820, zzguo@iastate.edu

  • Department Newsletter Preview

    Click on the image left for a preview of our completed alumni newsletter.

    You'll also find a link on our homepage, and new features in our alumni section (available in the next week). Find hard copies in your mailbox now. Extra copies also available upon request.

    Many thanks to all who contributed!

     

  • Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) new website

    The Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) has opened a new website where you can find high quality outreach materials on a variety of subjects, including farm management, commodity marketing, agricultural policy and others .  Bulletins, fact sheets and electronic spreadsheets that have been reviewed by extension experts in each field have been posted.  The site is open to anyone and is free of charge.  Materials can be downloaded in their current format for educational purposes and as reference sources.  More materials will be added in the future.   Go to http://aaea.execinc.com/resources/and check out what is available.

News

  • Swenson's work on the impacts of health reform for Iowans featured in ISU News Service story

    Dave Swenson, with the Regional Economics and Community Analysis Program (RECAP), wrote an article recently published in IAbiz magazine on the impacts of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on both industry and employees in Iowa.

    Read the ISU News Service story and Swenson's article here.

     

  • Successful Farming publisher to speak at Saturday's Ag Business Club Banquet

    Scott Mortimer, the publisher of Successful Farming magazine, will be featured as a special speaker at the Ag Business Club's annual banquet. Mortimer, who graduated with a degree in ag business in 1987, will receive the outstanding alumni award for 2010. His talk is focused on sharing advice and success stories with students.

    This banquet will be held Saturday, March 5th at 9:00 am in the Scheman Bldg. The cost is $10 for members (free for members who have a perfect attendance record since F10) and $15 for non members. 

  • Undergrads gain "experiential learning" in Ag Entrepreneurship Initiative competition

    The Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative hosted their third annual Ag Innovation and Value Creation competition, Monday, February 28th.  Fifty-five undergraduate students participated in teams of 3 to 4, and were challenged to create new value for an existing technology.

    Teams were asked to find a new agricultural use for optimal sensor technology, a beam of light commonly used in security systems and in measuring grain. The winning team developed a way to use the technology to open and close of gates in a feed lot. Members of that team included Stuart McCulloh, Holden Nyhus (both presenting in photo), Michael Koenig, and Alyssa Louwsma.

    Students were awarded their choice of scholarships, cash awards, or networking opportunities with individuals working in the ag industry.

    Stacey Noe, program coordinator with the Agricultural Entrepreneur Initiative, says that the focus of the competition is to provide students with "experiential learning" opportunities that go beyond the classroom.

    "These are opportunities for students to take key skills and apply them to real-life situations," she says. "The competition is designed to be challenging and mind opening. Students learn to apply the knowledge base they’ve gained in the classroom to real life situations in the agriculture industry."

  • Thursday's speaker: "Flexibility in trade bloc design," with Mark Melatos, University of Sydney and York University



    Mark Melatos, Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics at the University of Sydney, Australia, will speak on "Flexibility in trade bloc design." Thursday, March 10th,  3:40 pm - 5:00 pm, 368A Heady Hall.


     A key characteristic of any trade bloc is its “flexibility” – the extent to which it can be modified or augmented by existing members. Melatos will discuss his research which investigates how prospective trade bloc members value the flexibility of proposed trade agreements in a changing trading environment.


    Melatos is Senior Lecturer in the School of Economics at the University of Sydney, Australia.  He received his PhD in Economics from the same institution in 2002.  Mark’s research focuses on international trade theory and policy, particularly the optimal design of regional trade agreements (RTAs) and non-tariff measures (NTMs).  Mark has published in international journals such as the European Economic Review and Review of International Economics.  Since 2005, he has been a consultant on RTAs and NTMs for the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate.  In support of his research, Mark has received numerous competitive research grants including from the Australian Research Council, Danish Research Council and European Commission.

Graduate Student Announcements

  • American Institute for Economic Research summer fellowships

    Application materials and additional information are available online at www.aier.org/fellowships. Applications are due by March 21, 2011. Please email us at fellowship@aier.org with any questions you may have.

  • White House internship program application deadline Sunday, March 13

Department Seminars and Workshops

  • Wednesday's speaker: "The Value of Secure Property Rights: Evidence from Global Fisheries," with Corbett Grainger University of Wisconsin-Madison

    "The Value of Secure Property Rights: Evidence from Global Fisheries," with Corbett Grainger University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wednesday, March 9th, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, 368A Heady Hall

    Abstract: Property rights are often touted as a solution to common pool resource problems. But in practice the security of these property rights varies substantially. We contribute by exploring whether, how, and why property rights in security affects the values of assets they are meant to protect. In fisheries, the security of property rights underlying individual transferable quotas (ITQs) varies substantially across fisheries, though the implications of property rights security have not been carefully studied. We compile a unique dataset to examine the relationship between the security of property rights and the dividend price ratios for ITQs. We find compelling evidence that stronger property rights lead to lower dividend price ratios and higher asset values in fisheries. This pecuniary effect of property rights security informs the current policy debate on the design of property rights institutions for natural resources.

    Grainger is an Assistant Professor in the AAE Department at University of Wisconsin – Madison. He is interested in studying the effects of regulations, property rights, and institutions with a focus on environmental policy and natural resources. His research interests include the distributional effects of environmental regulations and the effects of environmental policy on different demographic groups; and the design of institutions and property rights regimes, with an emphasis on environmental policy and the management of common pool resources.

Conferences and Calls for Papers

  • Organic Farming Systems Conference, March 16-18, Wash DC

    USDA will sponsor a three-day conference, March 16-18, 2011, in Washington DC to examine findings from research on organic farming systems, including many longstanding projects.  The audience for this conference includes researchers, policymakers, farmers, ranchers and others who are interested in exploring the implications of organic farming systems research.

    Please visit the conference website for more information—including the preliminary agenda—and to register for the conference, http://www.ers.usda.gov/ConferenceCenter/OrganicFarmingSystems/

  • Call for editors, reviewers, and papers -- International Business and Management (IBM)

    International Business and Management(IBM) is a multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal published quarterly by Academic Journals (Http://www.cscanada.org; Http://www.cscanada.net). IBM is dedicated to increasing the depth of research across all areas of this subject. Seeking qualified researchers to join its editorial team as editors, sub editors, or reviewers. Also issuing a call for papers.

    We invite you to submit your manuscript(s) to ibm@cscanada.net; shirley@cscanada.netfor publication in the journal  Instruction for authors and other details are available on our website: http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/ibm/index.

  • Women’s Leadership Conference April 15th at UNI

Funding Opportunities

Job Opportunities

  • Economic Research Service seeks branch chief

    Branch Chief is responsible for planning, directing, and managing the Farm and Rural Business (FRB) Branch program of economic research, analysis, and information dissemination. Also responsible for providing the overall management of the highly technical components of the FRB Branch program that includes production of USDA's forecasts and estimates of farm income, and provides leadership and management of highly skilled staff that includes identifying the highest priority research activities.

    Application deadline, March 18th.  Contact Mary Bohman, Director, Resource and Rural Economics Division (mbohman@ers.usda.gov) with any questions.

    More information available

  • Planning Position -- Purdue

    Specific emphasis on extension and outreach efforts in the land use and natural resource planning area. We would expect the successful applicant to have an advance degree in regional and urban planning, environment planning, natural resource planning, regional science/geography, natural resource sustainability or closely related field. See attached for more info and application procedure.

    More information available

  • Hancock Agricultural Investment Group seeks economist

    The Hancock Agricultural Investment Group, located in Boston, Massachusetts, seeks an individual with graduate level economics training (Ph.D.preferred) and 8-10 years experience for the position of senior agricultural economist.  

    For more information or to submit your resume, please contact Jean Squire at 617.747.1509 or ssquire@hnrg.com

    more information available

  • USDA economic research service seeks senior economist

    Full-time research position will address a range of information issues arising in food markets including the demand for and supply of product attributes such as methods of production, nutritional composition, food safety, and other credence attributes as well as a wide range of related regulatory issues including food labeling, health claims, and traceability for food safety.  Applicants should have an interest in working on economic questions about market response to information including both consumer and firm responses to voluntary and mandatory disclosure laws, the impact of new technologies that reduce costs of information, and industrial organization approaches for understanding supply chain incentives to supply health, safety and other credence attributes.  The positions require strong oral and written communication skills and an ability to communicate technical matters to a wide range of audiences.  A Ph.D. in economics or agricultural economics and research experience is required.  U.S. citizenship required.  The salary range is $105,211.00 - $136,771.00 /year.

    More information available

  • Assistant Professor in Human Dimensions of Agroecosystems and Natural Resources -- U. of Hawaii

    The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM) seeks applicants at the Assistant Professor level in Human Dimensions of Agroecosystems and Natural Resources, to begin on August 1, 2011.Full-time, 9-month, tenure-track academic position – 50% Research / 50% Teaching


    An applicant with interest in an integrated systems approach (i.e. coupled human-nature systems approach) to understanding the linkages, interactions and dynamics between natural environments, and ecosystems, and human systems for sustainable livelihoods is desired. Candidate is expected to develop an extramurally-funded, active research program on human dimensions of natural resources, including such aspects as agroecosystems, human-nature conflicts, urban-rural interface, water security, ecosystem services, or sustainable systems; and to actively participate in undergraduate and graduate teaching which include developing and teaching a new undergraduate and/or graduate course in human dimensions of natural resources and/or ecosystem services, teaching/co-teaching core courses in the NREM undergraduate and/or graduate curriculums, and advising undergraduate and graduate students.  
     
    Review of applications will begin on March 28, 2011  Applicants should provide a cover letter, curriculum vitae, official transcripts, and contact information (name, telephone number, address, and email address) for three professional references to Natural Resources & Environmental Management, College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, 1910 East West Road, Sherman 101, Honolulu, HI 96822. For further information of the position, please visit http://www.pers.hawaii.edu/wuh/search.aspx(Position Number 83142) or contact Dr. Catherine Chan-Halbrendt (chanhalb@hawaii.edu; +1-808-956-7530).  

  • USDA economic research service seeks entry-level PhD U. research economists

    The USDA Economic Research Service is seeking PhD research economists for entry-level positions in the Food Economics Division.   Expertise is sought in the following areas: spatial econometrics or the economics of information.  Applicants in spatial econometrics should have qualifications to address the spatial determinants of food consumption, food access, food security, and food market competition.   Applicants in the economics of information should have qualifications to address the demand for and supply of credence attributes in food markets, such as methods of production, nutritional composition, and food safety.   A Ph.D. in economics or agricultural economics and U.S. citizenship are required.

    Applications should be made at the following link:ERS-2011-0026, Research Agricultural Economist, GS-0110-12/13.  In addition, please email a CV to Elise Golan (egolan@ers.usda.gov).  Applications will be reviewed continuously until April 1 or the positions are filled.   For additional information, please contact Elise Golan at egolan@ers.usda.gov or 202-694-5424.