The Seed Biotechnology Center at the University of California Davis
recognizes University Research Partner
Dr. Julian M. Alston

Dr. Julian Alston is a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics of the University of California at Davis and Director of the Robert Mondavi Institute Center for Wine Economics.
 

Dr. Alston’s research generally relates to federal and state government policies and their consequences for agriculture. Areas of recent focus include the economic consequences of farm commodity programs, the economics of policies for financing and managing agricultural R&D, and the economics of wine.

Dr. Alston is currently leading collaborative projects across a range of subjects including studies of:

• The effects of agricultural policies on human nutrition and obesity (jointly with colleagues at Iowa State University www.card.iastate.edu/food_nutrition/)

• The benefits and costs of federal and state funding for agricultural research and extension conducted in the state agricultural experiment stations (jointly with colleagues at the University of Minnesota http://www.instepp.umn.edu/)

• Causes and consequences of a global slowdown in agricultural productivity growth 

• The economics of invasive agricultural pests and diseases, including Pierce’s Disease of wine grapes spread by the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter

• Economic developments in the domestic and international markets for wine and their implications for competitiveness of the wine industry California and the United States 

For further information, please contact Dr. Alston directly at julian@primal.ucdavis.edu. 

Dr. Alston’s website can be viewed at http://alston.ucdavis.edu/.