Food Economics: Agriculture, Nutrition, and Health

by William A. Masters, Amelia B. Finaret

Overview

Food Economics provides a unified introduction to the economics of agricultural production, business decisions, consumer behavior, and the government policies that shape our food system.

This open access textbook begins with economic principles derived using graphical techniques to explain and predict observed prices, quantities, and other outcomes as a result of individual choices influenced by market structure and public policies. The second half of the book explores available data globally and for the US, covering a wide range of questions in agriculture and economic development, food marketing, and consumption.

Food Economics and its accompanying online resources are designed for advanced undergraduate or introductory graduate courses in agriculture, food, and nutrition policy. The book covers the standard diagrams taught in principles-level courses, with concrete examples and practical insights regarding food production, consumption, and trade. Online resources include data sources, and course materials, including slides, exercises, exams, and answer keys.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783031538391
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	05/01/2024
Series:	Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy
Edition description:	2024
Pages:	476
Sales rank:	492,773
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

William A. Masters is Professor at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy with a secondary appointment in the Department of Economics. He is Fellow of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA), International Fellow of the African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE), a former editor of Agricultural Economics, and a recipient of numerous awards for teaching, research, and policy analysis.

Amelia B. Finaret is Associate Professor at Allegheny College, teaching in the Department of Global Health with a secondary appointment in the Business and Economics Department. She is also Honorary Lecturer for the University of Edinburgh’s Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems (GAAFS) and a practicing clinical dietitian at Titusville Area Hospital in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Finaret holds graduate degrees in agricultural and food economics, and she is a registered dietitian (RD) and licensed dietitian nutritionist (LDN).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Individual choices: explaining food consumption and production.- Chapter 3: Societal outcomes: predicting food market prices and quantities.- Chapter 4: Social welfare: evaluating change in food market outcomes.- Chapter 5: Market power: when innovation, scale economies or policy choices create imperfect competition.- Chapter 6: Collective action: government policies and other social choices.- Chapter 7: Poverty and risk: variation among people and over time.- Chapter 8: Psychology and decision-making: behavioral economics in the food system.- Chapter 9: Food in the macroeconomy: the whole is more than the sum of its parts.- Chapter 10: International development: systemic change over time.- Chapter 11: The world food system: trade, storage and processing within and between countries.- Chapter 12: The future of food: new technology, resource constraints and induced innovation.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Food Economics is much more than just another textbook in agricultural economics. It provides an easily-accessible and exciting economics perspective to food systems, including agricultural production, food markets and value chains, consumer choices, and nutrition and health outcomes. Written by international leaders in their fields, this book combines theoretical rigor with up-to-date empirical insights about trends and challenges for sustainable food systems development.”

–Matin Qaim, Director of the Center for Development Research and Professor of Agricultural Economics, University of Bonn, Germany; President, International Association of Agricultural Economists

“In what is sure to become a leading standard text, Masters and Finaret’s Food Economics provides a broad, accessible introduction to the economics of food and agriculture.”
–Jayson Lusk, Dean of Agriculture andProfessor of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University, USA; former President, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association