The Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 caused wheat and corn prices to spike 30% and 13%, respectively, and threatened a worldwide food crisis. International efforts to mitigate a food security crisis via the Solidarity Lanes and the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) have successfully allowed grain exports out of Ukraine. However, Russia’s recent withdrawal from the BSGI, coupled with increased bombings of Odesa and Danube River ports, caused another price spike for these grains.
California is home to four of the eight active soda taxes in the United States, but are these policies successfully decreasing the consumption of sugary beverages in these cities? New research out of UC Davis suggests that, in most cases, these soda taxes did not reduce retail sales.
We’ve heard a lot about rising fertilizer prices since mid-2020 and various explanations have been offered. UC Davis DeLoach Professor of Agricultural Economics, Aaron Smith, says a confluence of factors have combined to cause the price spike and that, in part due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, prices continue to increase. "Oil and gas prices have surged in the past couple of weeks due to supply uncertainty created by Russian threats to invade Ukraine,” said Smith.
Poorer Communities Face Double Burden During Pandemic as They Stay Home Less
Wealthier communities went from being the most mobile before the COVID-19 pandemic to the least mobile, while poorer areas have gone from the least mobile to the most mobile, according to a study by the University of California, Davis.
Faculty from the UC Davis School of Medicine and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have received seed funding from the UC Office of the President to launch research projects aimed at mitigating the impact of COVID-19.
New report explores long-term effect on state’s agricultural industries
A new report from agricultural economists at the University of California examines how COVID-19 continues to impact California agriculture. Profiles of leading California agricultural industries illustrate the different ways the pandemic has impacted leading industries like dairy, beef, and produce—industries that have scrambled to repurpose products from food service to retail—and tree nuts, an industry that saw a temporary spike in sales as consumers hoarded storable goods.
Study Finds High Cost to Disposing of Rejected Product
The high cost of testing cannabis in California leads to higher prices for the consumer, which could drive consumers to unlicensed markets.
A new study from researchers at the University of California, Davis, finds the safety tests cost growers about 10 percent of the average wholesale price of legal cannabis. The biggest share of this expense comes from failing the test.
Hope might seem like the business of philosophers and motivational speakers. But economists, too, are exploring the power of aspirations.
More than 800 million people in the world live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $1.90 a day. Interventions usually focus on providing tangible resources, such as access to clean water, nutrition, health care, education and a viable income.
But new research from economists in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences highlights a psychological asset that could be equally important: hope.
