Joint Public Lecture by ZEF and TRA6 on The Evolution of Innovation and Product Supply Chains
June 17, 2024 | 16:15 h - 17:45 h
Joint Public Lecture of TRA 6 Sustainable Futures and ZEF
Speaker: Professor David Zilberman (UC Berkeley, USA)
Topic: The Evolution of Innovation and Product Supply Chains
Date/Time: Monday, June 17, 2024, 4:15 PM – 5:45 PM (CEST)
Venue: ZEF conference room, ground floor, Genscherallee 3, 53113 Bonn
After the lecture, there will be a small reception with drinks in the ZEF Foyer
Abstract
We developed a conceptual framework appropriate to traditional and modern agriculture, emphasizing the evolution of innovation, a multi-stage supply chain, and non-competitive behavior by intermediaries. We developed conditions under which the supply chain will be vertically integrated or rely on various forms of contracting between farmers and agribusiness. We identified factors that lead to oligopolistic profits and assessed the role of credit, uncertainty, and dynamics. We demonstrate our findings with examples – the evolution of the cattle sector, water supply chain, flowers in Kenya, and others – and derive policy implications for developing a more resilient agri-food sector that is up to the challenges of climate change and food security
About the speaker
David Zilberman holds the Robinson Chair in the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department at the University of California at Berkeley. He received the 2019 Wolf Prize in Agriculture and is member of the U.S. National Academy of Science. Zilberman served as President of the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA). He is a fellow of multiple professional associations and has over 400 journal articles, including in top science and economics journals. He got a BA from Tel Aviv University and a PhD from UC Berkeley. Professor Zilberman's research analyzes water, innovation, supply chain, agriculture, energy, and the environment. He has researched the economics and political economy of agricultural biotechnology and the potential of the bioeconomy. In addition, he has been working on water policy programs and the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
