Special Topics in Agricultural Economics

Teacher(s)

Gaspart Frédéric; Van den Broeck Goedele (coordinator);

Language

English
> French-friendly

Prerequisites

Micro-economics (e.g., LBIR1242 Principes d'économie), introduction to econometrics (e.g., LECGE1316 or LINGE1221 Econométrie).

Main themes

Topics are from research and studies recently published in the theoretical or empirical scientific literature but close to the domain covered by agricultural and natural resource economics. Depending on the instructors, the topics can cover issues in agricultural, rural, food, regional, trade and environmental policy as well as issues related to rural development, poverty and management of natural resources as land, water and space.
So far as possible, topics are accompanied by initiation to quantitative methods as econometric estimations and mathematical programming.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	With respect to the learning outcomes of the Bio-engineering in agricultural sciences, this course contributes to the following main learning outcomes: 2.2 - 2.4: being exposed to focused state-of-the-art pieces of scientific work 6.1: reading and explaining published scientific papers 6.2 & 6.4, 6.5, 6.9: presenting published scientific papers By the end of the course, students are able to: -       better understand the scientific approach in economics, in particular in agricultural and natural resource economics, -       apply such approach to analyse a specific socio-economic issue of interest, -       understand journal articles in that research domain, -       assess the potential but also the limits of such approach. This course is a good preparation for a thesis in agricultural and natural resource economics.

Content

2011, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium:
Imperfections in Rural Financial Markets in Developing Countries: Theoretical origins, Policy response and Impact evaluation (July 19-21, 2011), Prof. Steve Boucher, University of California, Davis, USA
2012, Uppsala, Sweden:
Applications of Agricultural Trade Policy (August 15 - 17, 2012), Prof. James Rude, University of Alberta, Canada
2013, Budapest, Hungary:
Sustainable Energy Policy (August 12-15, 2013), Prof. Thomas G. Johnson, University of Missouri, USA
2014, Bonn, Germany:
Consumer Food Choice and Policy (August 4-8, 2014), Prof. Sean Cash, Tufts University, USA
2015, Barcelona, Spain:
Multicriteria Decision Making for Agriculture and Environment (August 3-6, 2015), Prof. Slim Zekri, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
2016, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium:
Field Experiments to Inform Policy and Programs in Development Economics (July 19-23, 2016), Prof. Nicholas Magnan, University of Georgia, USA
2017, Barcelona, Spain:
Perspectives on International Agriculture and Rural Development (July 24-27, 2017), Prof. Ruben G. Echeverría, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia
2018, Rende, Italy:
Quasi-experimental methods in agricultural, food and environmental policy analysis (July 16-20, 2018), Scientific Committee: Rosanna Nisticò (University of Calabria), Donato Romano (University of Florence), Paolo Sckokai (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), Luca Salvatici, (Roma Tre University)

Teaching methods

Two workshops, each led by a specialist from the academic or professional world, organised during a summer school and lasting five full days. 

Evaluation methods

Class participation and written examination at the end of each of the two workshops.

Other information

Workshops instructed in English with most material in English.
The two workshops are organised in two different summer schools.

Online resources

Internet, including Moodle or other dedicated platforms.

Bibliography

Teaching support: slides, overheads, textbooks, journal articles, statistical, econometric or optimising software (e.g., Stata, R, GAMS).

Faculty or entity

AGRO