Essays on the Economics of Food and Agricultural Technology

Abstract

Technological adoption in food and agricultural systems has long been recognized as a major driver of productivity growth, structural transformation, and welfare improvement. This dissertation examines technology adoption and its welfare implications across nutrition and agricultural production. The first chapter evaluates a fortified rice intervention implemented through a randomized school feeding program in Cambodia. Using panel data with pre- and post-intervention measurements, the analysis estimates the impacts of fortified rice on children's nutritional outcomes, micronutrient biomarkers, and cognitive performance. The results show significant reductions in zinc deficiency and improvements in selected biomarkers, with effects varying by rice formulation and micronutrient composition. Significant heterogeneity is observed by child characteristics, including sex, age, and baseline nutritional status. Beyond the probability of having deficiency, the intervention also reduces the zinc deficiency gap and severity. The second chapter assesses the cost-effectiveness of three fortified rice formulations based on micronutrient composition, using Difference-in-Differences estimates from the first chapter as measures of effectiveness to construct Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios. While the type of fortified rice with higher contents of serum zinc is the most effective formulation for zinc-related outcomes, it lies in the "uncertain" region of the cost-effectiveness plane due to its higher incremental cost, highlighting the importance of explicit Willingness-to-Pay thresholds for adoption decisions. The final chapter analyzes the determinants and market impacts of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) in U.S. vegetable production. Using a random forest model, the chapter identifies key drivers of adoption, including temperature, electricity prices, and financial capacity, and predicts state-level adoption rates. These predicted adoption rates are then incorporated into an equilibrium displacement model to simulate CEA expansion and electricity price shocks. The results indicate that CEA expansion modestly lowers prices, increases quantities, raises consumer surplus, and generates heterogeneous welfare effects across production systems. In addition, CEA adopters operating energy-intensive systems are more sensitive to changes in electricity prices.