David Ortega
Professor and Noel W. Stuckman Chair in Food Economics and Policy Michigan State University
- East Lansing MI
David Ortega researches the decision making processes of consumers to better inform food policies and marketing strategies.
Media
Biography
Dr. Ortega has extensive research experience both domestically and internationally, including significant work in several emerging and developing countries across Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past 15 years, his work in China has centered on evaluating emerging markets for U.S. agricultural products and the economics of food quality. His research has been published in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, including Food Policy, World Development, Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Economic Development and Cultural Change, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, and China Economic Review.
Recognized for his expert analysis of the forces and events that impact and shape the agricultural and food sectors, Dr. Ortega has been called upon to deliver testimony before federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Senate and House Agriculture Committees. His insights and economic analysis are also frequently featured in major media outlets such as The New York Times, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, Financial Times, Newsweek, Detroit Free Press, ABC News, NBC News, PBS, USA Today, CNN, Forbes, and Politico.
Dr. Ortega earned his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University.
Areas of Expertise
Education
University of Florida
B.S.
Food and Resource Economics
2006
Purdue University
M.S.
Applied Economics
2009
Purdue University
Ph.D.
Applied Economics
2012
News
Ask the expert: How the 2024 election could impact your grocery bill
MSU Today online
2024-10-07
David Ortega, professor and Noel W. Stuckman Chair in Food Economics and Policy at Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, breaks down the complexities of food prices during this election season and what presidential candidates are saying about it.
American Agriculture Can't Afford Another Trade War with China | Opinion
Newsweek online
2024-06-27
American agriculture stands at a crossroads. With our farmers still reeling from the financial turmoil of the past few years, the prospect of another economic conflict with China is untenable. From 2018 to 2020, American farmers faced devastating losses due to the trade conflict with China. During this period, U.S. agricultural exports to China plummeted, with losses exceeding $25 billion.
David L. Ortega Addresses U.S. House Committee on the Importance of U.S.-China Relations in Agriculture
Michigan State University online
2024-06-12
On March 20th, 2024, David L. Ortega, Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at Michigan State University, delivered testimony to the United States House of Representatives Agriculture Committee. With his extensive expertise in food and agricultural economics, Dr. Ortega shed light on the intricate dynamics of U.S.-China relations within the agricultural sector.
The truth about China’s influence on American agriculture
The Hill online
2024-03-22
AFRE Professor David Ortega provides expert testimony, authors opinion on 'China’s influence on American agriculture'
No break in sight for high egg prices, experts say
Midland Daily News online
2023-01-22
Michigan State University food economist and associate professor David Ortega said he hopes the U.S. has seen the height of the avian flu outbreak and that prices will drop as the higher demand around the holiday season eases, but he said a lot of uncertainty remains.
“It’s hard to say what’s in store for this year,” Ortega said. “But on the wholesale side, things seem to be cooling off. But it’s going to take some time for this to make its way down to the retail level.”
Journal Articles
Farmer personality and community-based extension effectiveness in Tanzania
World Development2024
Community-based extension relies on social relationships with farmers to increase the trust in and effectiveness of extension activities. Personality traits play an important role in social outcomes. We develop a conceptual model which shows that farmer personality can influence the likelihood of being aware of and incorporating information from community-based extension activities. We then examine this heterogeneity empirically leveraging a previously implemented randomized control trial and a dataset of Big Six personality traits (agency, agreeableness, openness to experience, neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness) for bean farmers in the Mbeya Region of Tanzania.
Using novel multi-method evaluation approaches to understand complex food system interventions: Insights from a supply chain intervention intended to improve nutrition
Current Developments in Nutrition2024
Background
A ‘food systems’ approach to improve diet quality by intervening within areas such as food supply chains is gaining prominence. However, evidence of such interventions’ impact, and understanding of appropriate methods to evaluate them, is lacking.
Objective
We present an impact evaluation of an intervention that aimed to increase consumption of nutritious foods by supporting food-producing firms in Kenya. In doing so, we demonstrate how multiple methods, including those from other disciplines, can be used to evaluate a complex food systems intervention.
Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small‐and medium‐sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya
Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy2024
Many development programs rely on the idea that increasing profitability of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) could increase availability of nutritious foods among low‐income consumers. We designed a randomized controlled trial in which we made a specific nutritious product produced by an SME exhaustively available in low‐income local markets. We find that compared to control markets, consumers in treated markets purchased and consumed more of this product and less of competing brands with added sugar and fat.
What does it take to revolutionize Chinese diets: evidence from a choice experiment on urban Chinese consumers
China Agricultural Economic Review2024
Purpose
The purpose is to understand the factors affecting Chinese diet selections and propose strategies for revolutionizing Chinese diets toward healthy ones.
The effect of avian influenza outbreaks on retail price premiums in the United States poultry market
Poultry Science2024
This study analyzes the effect of avian influenza outbreaks on retail price premiums in the US poultry market. We estimate hedonic price models for eggs, chickens, and turkeys, controlling for quality characteristics, unobserved time, and regional factors. To measure the impact of avian influenza outbreaks we use 2 proxies. The first proxy is a measure of the number of new bird infections at the production level. The second proxy measures online search queries related to the outbreak. The results show that, on average, prices increase across product categories, that is, egg, broiler, and turkey markets, during avian influenza outbreaks.
