Utpal Vasavada

Utpal Vasavada

Director, Market and Trade Economics Division
utpal.vasavada@usda.gov

Google Scholar profile

Briefly

Utpal Vasavada is the Director, Market and Trade Economics Division.

Background

Utpal joined the Economic Research Service (ERS) in 1993 and has served in numerous capacities: as a visiting scholar; an economist; a section leader; a Branch Chief; a Deputy Director for Management, Data, and Staff Analysis; and a Deputy Director for Outlook and Staff Analysis. Utpal's research covered such topics as determinants of capital investment in agriculture, cost and profitability implications of restricting chemical use, invasive species management, economics of foreign direct investment, and sustainability. While at ERS, Utpal served as Associate Editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, on the Advisory Board of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP), as the U.S. delegate to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Joint Work Program on Agriculture and the Environment, and on the Bureau of the OECD’s Committee for Agriculture (COAG). In addition to his work at ERS, Utpal also has served as an Economist at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, and on detail to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB-OIRA). Before joining ERS, Utpal served on the faculty at the University of Georgia and Laval University. Utpal also taught Econometrics courses at Johns Hopkins University and Graduate School USA.

Education

Utpal received a Ph.D. and an M.S. degree from the University of Maryland, College Park. Utpal also received M.A. and B.A. degrees from Pune University, India.

Selected Publications

O'Donoghue, E., J. MacDonald, U. Vasavada, and P. Sullivan. 2011. "Changing Farming Practices Accompany Major Shifts in Farm Structure," Amber Waves, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, November. 

Huang, W., W.D. McBride, and U. Vasavada. 2009. "Recent Volatility in U.S. Fertilizer Prices," Amber Waves, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, March.

Lambert, D., G. Schaible, R. Johansson, and U. Vasavada. 2007. "The Value of Integrated CEAP-ARMS Data in Conservation Program Analysis," Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 62:1-9.

Roberts, M., D. Schimmelpfennig, E. Ashley, M. Ash, and U. Vasavada. 2006. The Value of Plant-Disease Early Warning Systems: A Case Study of the USDA's Soybean Rust Coordinated Framework, ERR-18, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, April.

Johansson, R., J. Cooper, and U. Vasavada. 2005. "Greener Acres or Greener Waters? Potential U.S. Impacts of Agricultural Trade Liberalization," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 34(1):1-12. 

Cooper, J., J. Bernstein, U. Vasavada, and J. Bureau. 2005. "The Environmental Byproducts of Agriculture: International Policy Responses," in Global Agricultural Policy Reform and Trade, J. Cooper, ed. pp. 11-38. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Sullivan, J., and U. Vasavada. 2000. "U.S. Environmental Regulation and the Location of Hog Production," Agricultural Outlook, AGO-274, pp. 19-23, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, September.

Smith, M., M. Peters, U. Vasavada, and T. Worth. 2000. "Curbing Nitrogen Runoff: Effects on Production and Trade," Agricultural Outlook, AGO-271, pp. 19-21, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, May.

Munisamy, G., D. Pick, and U. Vasavada. 1999. "The Economics of Foreign Direct Investment and Trade with an Application to the U.S. Food Processing Industry," American Journal of Agricultural Economics 81:442-452.

Hrubovcak, J., U. Vasavada, and J. Aldy. 1999. Green Technologies for a More Sustainable Agriculture, AIB-752, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

Munisamy, G., and U. Vasavada. 1999. "Patents, R & D, and Market Structure in the U.S. Food Processing Industry," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 24:127-139.

Munisamy, G., D. Pick, and U. Vasavada. 1998. "Exchange Rate Effects on the Relationship between FDI and Trade in the U.S. Food Processing Industry," American Journal of Agricultural Economics 80:1074-1080 (Invited Paper).