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.

Contact

Michigan State University

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Biography

Dr. David L. Ortega, a Professor and the Noel W. Stuckman Chair in Food Economics & Policy at Michigan State University, leads an integrated research, teaching, and outreach program focused on understanding the decision-making processes of consumers, producers, and agribusinesses to better inform food policies and marketing strategies.

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

Experimental Economics
Agricultural Development
Economics
Food Supply
Inflation
Food Prices
Food Marketing
Food Economics and Policy
Consumer and Producer Decision-making
China

Education

Purdue University

Ph.D.

Applied Economics

2012

Purdue University

M.S.

Applied Economics

2009

University of Florida

B.S.

Food and Resource Economics

2006

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.

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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.

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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.

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Journal Articles

The effect of avian influenza outbreaks on retail price premiums in the United States poultry market

Poultry Science

2024

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.

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What does it take to revolutionize Chinese diets: evidence from a choice experiment on urban Chinese consumers

China Agricultural Economic Review

2024

Purpose
The purpose is to understand the factors affecting Chinese diet selections and propose strategies for revolutionizing Chinese diets toward healthy ones.

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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 Policy

2024

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.

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