Dr. McNamara develops and strengthens extension services to help them meet the needs of some of the world’s poorest smallholder farmers in places like Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. Paul has over 20 years of experience assisting organizations and programs that help smallholder farmers improve their agricultural productivity, increase their incomes, and achieve better household food security.
For three CEOS mini-grant winners, $2,000 is helping them buy data and equipment, conduct surveys, and travel to research sites (once COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed).
Graduate student mini-grant winners Frederick Nyanzu, Seojeong Oh, and Brian Waters are all in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics working on applied economics research.
Frederick is exploring the effect of sustainable agricultural practices and financial inclusion on food security from the Ghanaian context with his advisor, Kathy Baylis.
Seojeong is seeking to understand the general public's preferences for agricultural nutrient-loss reduction strategies that impact their taxes and water sources. Seojeong works with research advisor Benjamin Gramig.
Brian is using the grant towards providing a research-based, community-supported, economically sustainable roadmap to improving water sources in Malawi. Brian works with research advisor Paul McNamara.
Sign up for our quarterly newsletter to stay updated on the latest news and research. We will be back with an update later this year on their progress!
Listen to our most recent podcast with Brenna Ellison* and Melissa Pflugh Prescott** as they discuss highlights from their recently published paper, “Examining Nutrition and Food Waste Trade-offs Using an Obesity Prevention Context” available in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
The authors address frequently asked questions, including:
*Dr. Brenna Ellison: Associate Professor, Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign **Dr. Melissa Pflugh Prescott: Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
CEOS Research Podcasts on Soundcloud
You've stayed at one and maybe thought about becoming a host, but what happens when Airbnb comes to the neighborhood? See Minhong Xu and Yilan Xu's results here:
Abstract
Home-sharing increases the potential economic returns to residential properties. We examine how the expansion of Airbnb has stimulated neighborhood investment. Our instrumental variable estimates show that a one-percent increase in Airbnb listings raised the number of residential renovation projects by 0.527 percent and the value of retail renovation investment by 3.691 percent in the following quarter. Meanwhile, the net growth of liquor, retail food, and entertainment business licenses increased by 2.067, 3.933, and 0.755, respectively. The investment effects were driven disproportionately by commercial hosts operating multiple listings and were more prominent in declining neighborhoods.
Xu, M., & Xu, Y. (2021). "What happens when Airbnb comes to the neighborhood: The impact of home-sharing on neighborhood investment." Regional Science and Urban Economics(88). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2021.103670
