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Christopher Barrett

Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management

Primary Research Areas

  • food system and/or policy
  • international agriculture
  • international development
  • rural development
  • sustainable development

Graduate Fields

Chris Barrett is International Professor of Applied Economics and Management and co-Director of the African Food Security and Natural Resources Management program at Cornell University. He holds degrees from Princeton (A.B. 1984), Oxford (M.S. 1985) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (dual Ph.D. 1994) and worked as a staff economist with the Institute for International Finance in Washington, DC in the 1980s. Professor Barrett has published or in press 10 books and more than 170 journal articles and book chapters. He has been principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on more than $17 million in extramural research grants from the National Science Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Rockefeller Foundation, USAID and other sponsors. He served as editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics from 2003-2007, is presently as an associate editor or editorial board member of the African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Environment and Development Economics, the Journal of African Economies and World Development, and was previously President of the Association of Christian Economists. He has served on a variety of boards and has won several university, national and international awards for teaching, research and public outreach. He lives with his wife, Clara, and their five children in Lansing, NY.

Educational Background

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1994
M.S., University of Oxford, 1985
A.B., Princeton University, 1984

Research Grants

  • INVESTIGATING DEMAND FOR INDEX BASED LIVESTOCK INSURANCE IN KENYA
  • CORNELL AFRICAN FOOD SECURITY AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
  • AFRICAN FOOD SECURITY AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT - SECOND COHORT FIELD RESEARCH
  • COLLABORATIVE WORK AGREEMENT BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL LIVESTOCK RESARCH INSTITUTE (ILRI) AND CORNELL UNIVERSITY
  • IDIOSYNCRATIC SHOCKS AND THE DYNAMICS OF HOUSEHOLD WELL-BEING: EXPERIENCE AND MEDIATING FACTORS IN THREE COUNTRIES
  • DEVELOPING A MARKET ANALYSIS AND DECISION TREE FRAMEWORK FOR RESPONSE ANALYSIS: AN INITIAL WORKPLAN FOR A COLLABORATION BETWEEN CARE AND THE CORNELL CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
  • DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS: THE EFFECTS OF IDENTITY AND SOCIAL NETWORKS ON INVESTMENT AND MARKET PARTICIPATION BEHAVIOR

Selected Publications

PubMed Listings
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Daniel G. Maxwell. Forthcoming. Food Aid After Fifty Years: Recasting Its Role. London: Routledge.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., editor. Forthcoming. The Social Economics of Poverty: Identities, Groups, Communities and Networks. London: Routledge.
  • Barrett, Christopher B. Forthcoming. Rural Poverty Dynamics: Development Policy Implications. Agricultural Economics.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Winnie K. Luseno. Forthcoming. Decomposing Producer Price Risk: An Analysis of Livestock Markets in Northern Kenya. Food Policy.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., Christine M. Moser, Oloro V. McHugh, and Joeli Barison. 2004. Better Technology, Better Plots or Better Farmers? Identifying Changes In Productivity And Risk Among Malagasy Rice Farmers. American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
  • Lybbert, Travis J., Christopher B. Barrett, Solomon Desta, and D. Layne Coppock. 2004. Stochastic Wealth Dynamics and Risk Management Among a Poor Population. Economic Journal.
  • Gjertsen, Heidi E., and Christopher B. Barrett. 2004. Context-Dependent Biodiversity Conservation Management Regimes: Theory and Simulations. Land Economics.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Brent M. Swallow. 2004. Dynamic Poverty Traps and Rural Livelihoods. In Rural Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction Policies, edited by Frank Ellis and Ade Freeman. London: Routledge.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., Stein Holden, and Daniel C. Clay. 2004. Can Food-For-Work Programs Reduce Vulnerability? In Insurance Against Poverty, edited by Stefan Dercon. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Luseno, Winnie K., John G. McPeak, Christopher B. Barrett, Getachew Gebru, and Peter D. Little. 2003. The Value of Climate Forecast Information for Pastoralists: Evidence from Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya. World Development.
  • Place, Frank, Christopher B. Barrett, H. Ade Freeman, Joshua J. Ramisch, and Bernard Vanlauwe. 2003. Prospects for Integrated Soil Fertility Management Using Organic and Inorganic Inputs: Evidence from Smallholder African Agricultural Systems. Food Policy.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Daniel C. Clay. 2003. Self-Targeting Accuracy in the Presence of Imperfect Factor Markets: Evidence from Food-for-Work in Ethiopia. Journal of Development Studies.
  • Sherlund, Shane M., Christopher B. Barrett, and Akinwumi A. Adesina. 2002. Smallholder Technical Efficiency Controlling for Environmental Production Conditions. Journal of Development Economics.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., Frank Place, and Abdillahi A. Aboud, editors. 2002. Natural Resources Management in African Agriculture: Understanding and Improving Current Practices. CAB International.
  • Barrett, Christopher B. 2002. Food Security and Food Assistance Programs. In Handbook of Agricultural Economics, Bruce L. Gardner and Gordon C. Rausser, eds. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Jau Rong Li. 2002. Distinguishing Between Equilibrium and Integration in Spatial Price Analysis. American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Michael R. Carter. 2001-2002. Can’t Get Ahead For Falling Behind: New Directions for Development Policy To Escape Poverty and Relief Traps. Choices.
  • McPeak, John, and Christopher B. Barrett. 2001. Differential Risk Exposure and Stochastic Poverty Traps Among East African Pastoralists. American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., Thomas Reardon, and Patrick Webb. 2001. Nonfarm Income Diversification and Household Livelihood Strategies in Rural Africa: Concepts, Dynamics and Policy Implications. Food Policy.
  • Wang, Kai Li, Christopher Fawson, Christopher B. Barrett, and James B. McDonald. 2001. A Flexible Parametric GARCH Model With An Application To Exchange Rates. Journal of Applied Econometrics.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., Katrina Brandon, Clark Gibson, and Heidi Gjertsen. 2001. Conserving Tropical Biodiversity Amid Weak Institutions. BioScience.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Yi-Nung Yang. 2001. Rational Incompatibility with International Product Standards. Journal of International Economics.
  • Smith, Kevin, Christopher B. Barrett, and Paul W. Box. 2001. Not Necessarily In The Same Boat: Heterogeneous Risk Assessment Among East African Pastoralists. Journal of Development Studies.
  • Barrett, Christopher B. 2001. Does Food Aid Stabilize Food Availability? Economic Development and Cultural Change.
  • Lee, David R., and Christopher B. Barrett, editors. 2000. Tradeoffs or Synergies? Agricultural Intensification, Economic Development and the Environment in Developing Countries. CAB International.
  • Barrett, Christopher B. 2000. A Pluralistic Stewardship Approach to Sustainable Development. Christian Scholar's Review.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Peter Arcese. 1998. Wildlife Harvest in Integrated Conservation and Development Projects: Linking Harvest to Household Demand, Agricultural Production and Environmental Shocks in the Serengeti. Land Economics.
  • Barrett, Christopher B. 1997. Food Marketing Liberalization and Trader Entry: Evidence from Madagascar. World Development.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Jeffrey W. Cason. 1997. Overseas Research: A Practical Guide. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Barrett, Christopher B. 1996. On Price Risk and The Inverse Farm Size- Productivity Relationship. Journal of Development Economics 51, no. 2 (December):193-215 (lead article).
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Paul A. Dorosh. 1996. Farmers‚ Welfare and Changing Food Prices: Nonparametric Evidence From Rice In Madagascar. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 78, no. 3 (August):656-69.
  • Barrett, Christopher B., and Peter Arcese. 1995. Are ICDPs Sustainable? On The Conservation of Large Mammals in Sub-Saharan Africa. World Development 23, no. 7 (July):1073-85 (lead article).