**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT'S GOAL IS TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE LINKAGES BETWEEN US AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, R&D INVESTMENTS, AND CHANGING CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. IT HAS 3 OBJECTIVES: 1) TO QUANTIFY THE HISTORICAL IMPACT OF ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE ON STATE-LEVEL AGRICULTURAL TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY (TFP) GROWTH SINCE THE 1950S; 2) TO ESTIMATE THE RETURNS FROM AGRICULTURAL R&D USING TFP GROWTH ACCOUNTING TECHNIQUES THAT INCORPORATE WEATHER SHOCKS AND ONGOING CLIMATIC TRENDS, AND 3) TO EVALUATE THE R&D INVESTMENT NEEDED TO SUSTAIN HISTORICAL RATES OF AGRICULTURAL TFP GROWTH UNDER ALTERNATIVE CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS. TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS, THE TEAM WILL CONDUCT NOVEL ECONOMETRIC ANALYSES THAT LINK MEASURED TFP GROWTH WITH OBSERVED WEATHER CONDITIONS AND CLIMATE MODEL OUTPUT. THE PROJECT WILL BRING TOGETHER AN EXPERIENCED TEAM WITH A GROWING RECORD OF RESEARCH AT THE EMERGING INTERSECTION OF PRODUCTIVITY ANALYSIS AND CLIMATE CHANGE ECONOMICS. THE TEAM WILL ALSO MENTOR AND RELY ON THE TALENT OF 2 YOUNG RESEARCHERS, A POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE TO BE HIRED FROM THE POOL OF RECENT PHD GRADUATES, AND A GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT. BOTH WILL GAIN AND SHARPEN SPECIALIZED SKILLS NEEDED IN THIS RAPIDLY GROWING FIELD OF RESEARCH. BECAUSE R&D INVESTMENTS TAKE DECADES TO YIELD MEASURABLE RETURNS, THERE IS GREAT URGENCY IN GAINING INSIGHTS INTO THE NATURE OF THE R&D NEEDS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE. BY EXAMIN[ING] THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION, AND THE ENVIRONMENT THIS PROJECT DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTES TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE ECONOMICS PRIORITY AREA (A1651).

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators