Policy Pagers

CAFIO-PRG Develops Novel Approach to Policy Research by Dr. Konstantinos Giannakas

Consumer Attitudes and Labeling Regime Key to the Market Potential of Food Nanotechnology by Miah Tran, Dr. Amalia Yiannaka, and Dr. Konstantinos Giannakas

Country-Of-Origin-Labeling Creates Winners and Losers among Consumers, Producers, and Retailers by Dr. Konstantinos Giannakas, Dr. Alejandro Plastina, and Dr. Daniel Pick

Consumer-Oriented GM Products Can Hurt Producers by Dr. Konstantinos Giannakas and Rim Lassoued

Food Labeling Standards have Significant Welfare and Distributional Impacts by Dr. Konstantinos Giannakas, Dr. Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes, and Dr. Alexandre Magnier

Empathy Nudging Increases Conservation of Farming Land by Dr. Natalia Czap, Dr. Hans Czap, Dr. Gary Lynne and Dr. Mark  Burbach

2013 Farm Bill: An Experimental Test of the Senate & House Proposals by Dr. Natalia Czap, Dr. Hans Czap, Dr. Gary Lynne, and Dr. Mark  Burbach

Coexistence of GM, Conventional and Organic Food Not Always Possible by Dr. Konstantinos Giannakas

GMOs and IPRs are Key Weapons in Fight against Hunger by Dr. Konstantinos Giannakas

Ad Hoc Disaster and Crop Insurance Programs May Reduce the Use of Risk-Reducing Conservation Tillage Practices by Dr. Karina Schoengold, Dr. Ya Ding, and Russell Headlee

Empathy Conservation: Experiments Suggest a Need for More Attention in Policymaking by Dr. Natalia Czap, Dr. Hans Czap, Dr. Gary Lynne, and Dr. Mark Burbach

Renewable Portfolio Standards May Reduce Green Energy used in Electricity Production by Dr. Suparna Bhattacharya, Dr. Konstantinos Giannakas and Dr. Karina Schoengold

Fighting World Hunger can be a Win-Win: Innovating Firms can Do Well by Doing Good by Dr. Konstantinos Giannakas and Dr. Amalia Yiannaka

 CAFIO - PRG

The Center for Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization - Policy Research Group (CAFIO-PRG) was established in 2012 with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Policy Research Centers Program. CAFIO-PRG is led by the Project Director, Professor Konstantinos Giannakas, and its main focus has been on the development of a novel, empirically relevant, integrated, multi-market framework of policy analysis. This new policy analysis framework explicitly accounts for heterogeneity in consumer preferences or/and incomes; heterogeneous producers (producers differing in education, experience, motivations, location, management skills, technology adopted etc.); imperfectly competitive input suppliers, processors or/and retailers; and links and interactions between the agri-food supply channels of interest (i.e., markets of the regulated product and its relevant substitutes and complement products and services).

Another key component of CAFIO-PRG research is the extensive utilization of behavioral and experimental economic methods in policy analysis and policy design. The two key characteristics/ differentiating attributes of our research (i.e., the explicit consideration of agent heterogeneity and use of behavioral and experimental economics in policy analysis) are closely connected, as (a) our heterogeneity framework provides a theoretical grounding to our economic experiments, while, (b) by eliciting and registering the attitudes, motivations, and unique decision characteristics of individuals in diverse groups, the behavioral and experimental economics methods are uniquely equipped to capture the nature and magnitude of the relevant agent heterogeneity. Together, they can improve our understanding of the effects of different policies on the interest groups involved.

Activities & Accomplishments since 2012
The development of the new policy analysis framework has now been completed and various adaptations have been used to analyze important policy issues like:

In addition to the issues that were part of the CAFIO-PRG project (outlined above), the framework has also been utilized by our group to research a diverse array of issues like:
  • The coexistence of genetically modified, conventional, and organic food products 
  • The market and welfare effects of a national Renewable Portfolio Standards policy
  • The effects of the Fair Trade regime on coffee producers 
  • The impact of property rights problems on cooperative organizations 
  • The role of innovation and policy in combating hunger around the world 


In addition to publishing its research findings in peer-reviewed academic journals, books and making presentations at professional association meetings and workshops, CAFIO-PRG has been communicating the essence of its research findings through CAFIO Policy Pagers, which are one-page discussions of important policy issues, CAFIO-PRG research, and results and implications. These policy pagers are posted in this website and are circulated widely in academia, industry and the government. Results have also been disseminated through outreach and extension meetings led by members of the group.

 Group

Front row, (left to right): Mike Hayes, School of Natural Resources; Lilyan Fulginiti, agricultural economics; Konstantinos Giannakas, agricultural economics, project leader; Peter Calow, Office of Research and Economic Development; Amalia Yiannaka and Gary Lynne, both agricultural economics. Back row (left to right): Brad Lubben, agricultural economics; Eric Thompson, director, UNL Bureau of Business Research; Ronnie Green, vice-chancellor, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Harvey Perlman, UNL chancellor; Prem Paul, vice chancellor, Research and Economic Development; Richard Perrin, agricultural economics; and Mark Burbach, School of Natural Resources. Not pictured: Karina Schoengold, agricultural economics; and John Anderson, economics.