Agricultural and Resource Economics

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2016-17 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu.

About the Program

The Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics offers programs leading to PhD degrees. Because of quota limitations, students are rarely admitted for the master's degree, although it may be awarded to students who are pursuing work toward the PhD in our program (or in another field at Berkeley) after fulfillment of the appropriate MS requirements.

The Agricultural and Resource Economics Program is relatively flexible; however, the program stresses economic theory, quantitative methods, and two elective fields defined in consultation with the graduate adviser. Some common elective fields include agriculture in economic development, agricultural policy, natural resource economics, and international markets and trade.

Visit Department Graduate Program Website

Admissions

Admission to the University

Minimum Requirements for Admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all graduate programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

  1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
  2. A grade point average of B or better (3.0);
  3. If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g., Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 90 on the iBT test, 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
  4. Sufficient undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants Who Already Hold a Graduate Degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees not as vocational training certificates, but as evidence of broad training in research methods, independent study, and articulation of learning. Therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to pursue new subject matter at an advanced level without need to enroll in a related or similar graduate program.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree only if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

  1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
  2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may apply only to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Required Documents for Applications

  1. Transcripts: Applicants may upload unofficial transcripts with your application for the departmental initial review. If the applicant is admitted, then official transcripts of all college-level work will be required. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) attended. If you have attended Berkeley, upload your unofficial transcript with your application for the departmental initial review. If you are admitted, an official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required.
  2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants may request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
  3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries or political entities in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and Quebec (Canada). However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a US university may submit an official transcript from the US university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement:
    • courses in English as a Second Language,
    • courses conducted in a language other than English,
    • courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and
    • courses of a non-academic nature.

If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests.

Where to Apply

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page . 

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Curriculum

A,RESEC 201Production, Industrial Organization, and Regulation in Agriculture4
A,RESEC 202Issues and Concepts in Agricultural Economics4
A,RESEC 211Mathematical Methods for Agricultural and Resource Economists4
A,RESEC 212Econometrics: Multiple Equation Estimation4
A,RESEC 213Applied Econometrics4
A,RESEC 219AEconometric Project Workshop2
A,RESEC 219BEconometric Project Workshop2
ECON 201AEconomic Theory4
ECON 201BEconomic Theory4
ECON 202AMacroeconomic Theory4
or ECON 202B Macroeconomic Theory
ECON 204Mathematical Tools for Economics3
or MATH 104 Introduction to Analysis

Courses

Agricultural and Resource Economics

A,RESEC 201 Production, Industrial Organization, and Regulation in Agriculture 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
Basic concepts of micro and welfare economics: partial and general equilibrium. Industrial organization: monopolistic competition, vertical integration, price discrimination, and economics of information with applications to food retailing, cooperatives, fishing, and energy.
Production, Industrial Organization, and Regulation in Agriculture: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 202 Issues and Concepts in Agricultural Economics 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
History, institutions, and policies affecting agriculture markets and environmental quality. Producer behavior over time and under uncertainty. Asset fixity and agricultural supply models.
Issues and Concepts in Agricultural Economics: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 210 Probability and Statistics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
This is an introduction to probability theory and statistical inference. It is primarily intended to prepare students for the graduate econometrics courses 212 and 213. The emphasis of the course is on the principles of statistical reasoning. Probability theory will be discussed mainly as a background for statistical theory and specific models will, for the most part, be considered only to illustrate the general statistical theory as it is developed.
Probability and Statistics: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 211 Mathematical Methods for Agricultural and Resource Economists 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
The goal of this course is to provide entering graduate students with the basic skills required to perform effectively in the graduate program and as professional economists. The lectures place heavy emphasis on intuition, graphical representations, and conceptual understanding. Weekly problem sets provide the opportunity to master mechanical skills and computational techniques. Topics covered include real analysis, linear algebra, multivariable calculus, theory of static constrained optimization, and comparative statics.
Mathematical Methods for Agricultural and Resource Economists: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 212 Econometrics: Multiple Equation Estimation 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
Introduction to the estimation and testing of economic models. Includes analysis of the general linear model, asymptotic theory, instrumental variable, and the generalized method of moments. In addition, a survey of time series, analysis, limited dependent variables.
Econometrics: Multiple Equation Estimation: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 213 Applied Econometrics 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Standard and advanced econometric techniques are applied to topics in agriculture and resource economics. Techniques include limited dependent variables, time series analysis, and nonparametric analysis. Students will use computers to conduct statistical analyses.
Applied Econometrics: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 214 New Econometric and Statistical Techniques 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010
Theory and application of new and emerging approaches to estimation and inference. Bayesian, maximum entropy,and other new applications to economic problems will be emphasized. Students will use computers to conduct statistical analyses.
New Econometric and Statistical Techniques: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 219A Econometric Project Workshop 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2013
Techniques for preparing econometric studies, including finding data sources, the reporting of results, and standards for placing research questions with existent literature. With faculty guidance, students prepare approved econometric projects, present projects to the class, provide comments on other student projects, and revise projects in response to faculty and student comments.
Econometric Project Workshop: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 219B Econometric Project Workshop 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2015
Techniques for preparing econometric studies, including finding data sources, the reporting of results, and standards for placing research questions with existent literature. With faculty guidance, students prepare approved econometric projects, present projects to the class, provide comments on other student projects, and revise projects in response to faculty and student comments.
Econometric Project Workshop: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 232 Empirical International Trade and Investment 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2007
Empirical aspects on international trade, foreign investment, and the environment. Issues related to testing various trade models. Topics include: testing trade models (HO, Ricardo, Specific Sector); gravity models; linkages between openness and growth; trade orientation and firm performance; pattern of trade; trade and the environment; labor markets and trade. New topics in international trade with empirical applications, such as trade models with heterogeneous firms, outsourcing and foreign investment.
Empirical International Trade and Investment: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 241 Economics and Policy of Production, Technology and Risk in Agricultural and Natural Resources 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
This course covers alternative models of production, resource and environmental risk management; family production function; adoption and diffusion; innovation and intellectual property rights; agricultural and environmental policies and their impact on production and the environment; water resources; pest control; biotechnology; and optimal control over space and time.
Economics and Policy of Production, Technology and Risk in Agricultural and Natural Resources: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 242 Quantitative Policy Analysis 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
Production versus predatory government behavior, rent seeking, social waste, and their trade-offs with the provision of growth-promoting public goods. Three failure types are distinguished: market, government, and organizational. The roles of public versus special interests are modeled to determine degree and extent of organizational failures in collective group behavior. Alternative frameworks are used to evaluate various types of policy reform.
Quantitative Policy Analysis: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 249 Agricultural, Food, and Resource Policy Workshop 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Presentation and criticism of ongoing research by faculty, staff and students. Not necessarily offered every semester.
Agricultural, Food, and Resource Policy Workshop: Read More [+]

A,RESEC C251 Microeconomics of Development 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Theoretical and empirical analyses of poverty and inequality, household and community behavior, and contract and institutions in the context of developing countries.
Microeconomics of Development: Read More [+]

A,RESEC C253 International Economic Development Policy 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
This course emphasizes the development and application of policy solutions to developing-world problems related to poverty, macroeconomic policy, and environmental sustainability. Methods of statistical, economic, and policy analysis are applied to a series of case studies. The course is designed to develop practical professional skills for application in the international arena.
International Economic Development Policy: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 259 Rural Economic Development Workshop 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Presentation and criticism of ongoing research by faculty, staff and students. Not necessarily offered every semester.
Rural Economic Development Workshop: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 261 Environmental and Resource Economics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Spring 2016
Theory of renewable and nonrenewable natural resource use, with applications to forests, fisheries, energy, and climate change. Resources, growth, and sustainability. Economic theory of environmental policy. Externality; the Coasian critique; tax incidence and anomalies; indirect taxes; the double dividend; environmental standards; environmental regulation; impact of uncertainty on taxes and standards; mechanism design; monitoring, penalties, and regulatory strategy; emissions markets.
Environmental and Resource Economics: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 262 Non-market Valuation 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2012, Spring 2011
The economic concept of value; historical evolution of market and non-market valuation; revealed preference methods: single site demand, multi-site demand, corner solution models, and valuation of quality changes; averting behavior; the hedonic method; contingent valuation; other stated preference methods: ranking, choice, conjoint analysis; the value of life and safety; sampling and questionnaire design for valuation surveys.
Non-market Valuation: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 263 Dynamic Methods in Environmental and Resource Economics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Fall 2013
This course studies methods of analysis and optimal control of dynamic systems, emphasizing applications in environmental and natural resource economics. Continuous-time deterministic models are studied using phase plane analysis, the calculus of variations, the Maximum Principle, and dynamic programming. Numerical methods are applied to discrete time stochastic and deterministic dynamic models.
Dynamic Methods in Environmental and Resource Economics: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 264 Empirical Energy and Environmental Economics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
This course is designed to help prepare graduate students to conduct empirical research in energy and environmental economics. The course has two broad objectives. The first is to develop an in-depth understanding of specific empirical methods and research designs that are routinely used in the field of energy and environmental economics. The second is to familiarize students with some of the economic theories and institutions that are most relevant to empirical work in this area.
Empirical Energy and Environmental Economics: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 265 Advanced Topics in Environmental and Resource Economics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015
Advanced topics in environmental and resource economics. Topics vary and include the economics of land, water, fisheries, forestry, pesticides, endangered species, policy instruments for environmental policy, and empirical evaluations of environmental and resource policy.
Advanced Topics in Environmental and Resource Economics: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 269 Natural Resource Economics Workshop 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Presentation and criticism of ongoing research by faculty, staff, and students. Not necessarily offered every semester.
Natural Resource Economics Workshop: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 298 Special Study for Graduate Students 1 - 6 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
All properly qualified graduate students who wish to pursue a special field of study may do so if their proposed program of study is acceptable to the member here of the staff with whom they work.
Special Study for Graduate Students: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 299 Individual Research 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017

Individual Research: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 375 Professional Preparation: Teaching of Environmental Economics and Policy 1 - 6 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Discussion, problem review and development, guidance of discussion classes, course development, supervised practice teaching.
Professional Preparation: Teaching of Environmental Economics and Policy: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 400 Professional Training in Research Methodology 1 - 6 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Individual training for graduate students in planning and performing research under the supervision of a faculty adviser, intended to provide academic credit for the experience obtained while holding a research assistantship.
Professional Training in Research Methodology: Read More [+]

A,RESEC 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 1 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017
Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required for candidates of the Ph.D. May not be used for unit or residence requirements for the doctoral degree.
Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]

Faculty and Instructors

+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Faculty

Michael Anderson, Associate Professor. Health economics, environmental economics.
Research Profile

+ Maximilian Auffhammer, Professor. Climate change, econometrics, air pollution, environmental economics, energy economics.
Research Profile

Peter Berck, Professor. Environmental economics, agricultural & resource economics, natural resource economics, agricultural production.
Research Profile

Alain De Janvry, Professor. Economics, labor management and policy.
Research Profile

Thibault Fally, Assistant Professor. International Trade and Investment, economic development, trade, development.
Research Profile

Meredith Fowlie, Associate Professor. Industrial organization, energy markets, energy efficiency, market-based environmental regulation, renewable energy resources.
Research Profile

+ J. Gilless, Professor. Environmental policy, resource economics, forestry, forest economics, wildland fire.
Research Profile

Larry S. Karp, Professor. Economics, environmental policy.
Research Profile

Ethan A. Ligon, Associate Professor. Economics, insurance, agricultural contracts, risk sharing, intra-household allocation.
Research Profile

Jeremy R. Magruder, Associate Professor. Employment, development economics, labor markets, social networks in developing countries.
Research Profile

Aprajit Mahajan, Associate Professor.

Edward A. Arens, Professor. Marketing, economics, labor, industrial organization, antitrust, econometrics, agricultural economics, trade.
Research Profile

Gordon Rausser, Professor. Biotechnology, environmental policy, resource economics, regulatory policy, bargaining and negotiation theory, futures and options markets, industrial organization and antitrust analysis.
Research Profile

David Roland Holst, Adjunct Professor.

Elisabeth Sadoulet, Professor. Economics, agriculture, labor management & policy.
Research Profile

James Michael Sallee, Assistant Professor. Energy, taxation, tax policy, climate, transportation, fuel economy.
Research Profile

Leo K. Simon, Adjunct Professor. Economics.
Research Profile

David Sunding, Professor. Water, environmental economics, economics of law, water quality, endangered species, wetlands.
Research Profile

Christian Traeger, Assistant Professor.

Sofia Berto Villas-Boas, Professor. Economics, industrial organization and applied econometrics.
Research Profile

Brian Wright, Professor. Innovation, economics, catastrophe insurance, intellectual property, agricultural policy, patents, commodity markets, storage, speculation.
Research Profile

David Zilberman, Professor. Marketing, biotechnology, water, risk management, biofuels, natural resources, agricultural and environmental policy, the economics of innovation.
Research Profile

Lecturers

Charles Gibbons, Lecturer.

Emeritus Faculty

Irma Adelman, Professor Emeritus.

Anthony Fisher, Professor Emeritus. Environmental and natural resource economics, economics of climate change.
Research Profile

Michael Hanemann, Professor Emeritus. Economics, labor management & policy.
Research Profile

George G. Judge, Professor Emeritus.

Sherman Robinson, Professor Emeritus.

Howard Rosenberg, Professor Emeritus.

Andrew Schmitz, Professor Emeritus.

L. Timothy Wallace, Professor Emeritus.

Contact Information

Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

207 Giannini Hall, #3310

Phone: 510-642-3345

Fax: 510-643-8911

Visit Department Graduate Program Website

Department Chair

David L. Sunding, PhD

207 Giannini Hall

Phone: 510-642-8229

http://are.berkeley.edu/users/david-l-sunding

sunding@berkeley.edu

Head Graduate Adviser

Elisabeth Sadoulet, PhD

http://are.berkeley.edu/users/elisabeth-sadoulet

esadoulet@berkeley.edu

Graduate Student Affairs Officer

Carmen Karahalios

203 Giannini Hall

Phone: 510-642-3347

carmenk@berkeley.edu

Department Manager

Janna Conway-Hamilton

207 Giannini Hall

Phone: 510-643-8319

jannac@berkeley.edu

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