By Richard Dunn and Jason M. Sheldon.
Richard Dunn, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, is recognized as one of the leading scholars in the economics of obesity; in 2015 he was a plenary speaker on the topic at the International Health Economics Association Biennial World Congress in Milan, Italy. Prior to arriving at UConn in 2014, he established an extensive research portfolio focused on how the economic environment influences risky health behaviors. For example, he recently published an article that connected declines in the stock market to increases in smoking, alcohol abuse and poor mental health. Another project demonstrated that the Great Recession caused alcohol purchases and drunk driving fatalities to increase.
Dunn is now embarking on an ambitious long-term project to compile and analyze federal administrative and survey data to document the contribution of food and agriculture industries (FAI) to the US economy. Statutory reporting requirements generate a wealth of information about the economic activity at US businesses. This data is a valuable resource that can inform policy decisions, improve production efficiency, increase the competitiveness of US firms and better guide economic development in rural America.
Although the United States Department of Agriculture collects extensive information about on-farm activity, they do not compile data on other segments of the food and fiber supply chain. Rather, these sectors are the responsibility of the Census Bureau. Without a mandate to systematically coordinate reporting across all the economic sectors that constitute the supply chain (on-farm production, manufacturing, warehousing, wholesaling, professional and business services, transportation, retailing and food services), the contribution of food and agriculture to the US economy will be underappreciated.
