Richardson, James Professor

Dr. Richardson has research and graduate teaching responsibilities in public policy and risk analysis. Richardson's research has attracted national recognition by emphasizing quantitative, risk based policy analyses through the use of farm-level simulation models.Evaluating the farm-level impacts of agricultural and tax policies on crop, livestock, and dairy farms is Richardson's specialty. His research is largely responsible for the ability of AFPC to evaluate the implications of policy decisions at the farm level -- the analytical dimension for which the Center is best known. As new policies are considered, their consequences are evaluated and the results are provided to policymakers, producers, producer groups, and policy analysts. More recently his research has expanded to include risk based economic feasibility of alternative renewable energy feedstocks and production systems.Richardson's research also involves quantitatively evaluating the impacts of new technology on the economic viability of agricultural firms, farm program formulation, farm structure, and competitiveness of U.S. agriculture. Richardson developed a simulation language and data analysis package (Simetar(C)) for teaching risk analysis and for risk modeling.