Graduate Economics Program has new director

Xiaoyong Zheng, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resources Economics (ARE) at the NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been named as the new director of the Graduate Economics Program delivered jointly by ARE and the NC College Poole College of Management's Department of Economics. He fills an vacancy created when Tamah Morant, associate professor in Poole College’s Department of Economics, was named associate dean for the college’s undergraduate programs effective January 1, 2016.

Zheng's research area is in markets with asymmetric information. His published and working projects include empirical studies of auctions (public works; timber; conservation reservation), contracts (marketing and production contracts in agriculture) and insurance (health; crop).

He is also an applied econometrician, applying microeconometrics methods to study policy-relevant issues in food demand, health and international trade. Currently, he teaches Industrial Organization I to the Ph.D. students and Applied Econometrics II to the masters students.