David Abler, Ph.D.

David Abler, Ph.D.

  • Interim Department Head, Ag Economics, Sociology, and Education
  • Professor of Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Economics and Demography
  • Agribusiness Management Program Coordinator
202 Armsby
University Park, PA 16802

Areas of Expertise

  • Economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture
  • Global food and agricultural markets
  • Natural resource economics
  • Climate change adaptation and mitigation

Education

  • Ph.D., Economics, University of Chicago, 1987
  • B.A., Economics and Mathematics, Macalester College, 1982

Research Interests

My research interests include the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture, global food and agricultural markets, natural resource economics, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. My country expertise includes work in China, Costa Rica, France, India, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. I am the J. Lossing Buck Visiting Professor at Nanjing Agricultural University in China.

Current/Recent Courses

  • EEFE 512: Applied Microeconomic Theory
  • AGBM 338: Agribusiness in the Global Economy

Recent Selected Publications

Dong, Y., Y. Mu, and D. Abler. 2019. Do Farmer Professional Cooperatives Improve Technical Efficiency and Income? Evidence from Small Vegetable Farms in China. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, doi:10.1017/aae.2019.22.

Nie, W., D. Abler, L. Zhu, T. Li, and G. Lin. 2018. Consumer Preferences and Welfare Evaluation under Current Food Inspection Measures in China: Evidence from Real Experiment Choice of Rice Labels. Sustainability, 10, 4003; doi:10.3390/su10114003.

Zhou, D., X. Yu, D. Abler, and D. Chen. 2017. Projecting Meat and Cereals Demand for China Based on a Meta-Analysis of Income Elasticities. China Economic Review, doi:10.1016/j.chieco.2017.12.002.

Shortle, J., D. Abler, Z. Kaufman, and K. Zipp. 2016. Implications of Lags in Pollution Delivery for Efficient Agricultural Waste Load Allocations and the Design of Water Quality Trading Programs. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 45:367-393.

Yu, X., and D. Abler. 2016. Matching Food with Mouths: A Statistical Explanation to the Abnormal Decline of Per Capita Food Consumption in Rural China. Food Policy 63:36-43.

Chen, D., D. Abler, D. Zhou, X. Yu, and W. Thompson. 2016. A Meta-Analysis of Food Demand Elasticities for China. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 38:50-72.

Kaufman, Z., D. Abler, J. Shortle, J. Harper, J. Hamlett, and P. Feather. 2014. Agricultural Costs of the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load. Environmental Science & Technology 48:14131-14138.

Recent Graduate Students

Tyagi, A. 2017. Essays on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Policies in India and Gains from Reforming Water Allocation Institutions. Ph.D., Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Economics and Demography.

Zaveri, E. 2016. Essays on Adaptation Responses to Climate Variability in India. Ph.D., Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Economics and Demography.

Chen, D. 2014. Three Essays on Food Environment, Food Demand, and Health. Ph.D., Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Economics and Demography.

Salcedo Du Bois, R. 2014. Groundwater Games: Users' Behavior in Common-Pool Resource Economic Laboratory and Field Experiments. Ph.D., Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Economics.

Sen, S. 2013. Three Essays on the Quantity-Quality Model of Fertility for India: Theoretical Extensions and Empirical Testing. Ph.D., Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Economics and Demography.

Fleming, D. 2012. Three Essays on Exogenous Shocks in Rural Areas: Land Conservation Policies and Natural Disasters. Ph.D., Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Economics.