Agricultural and Development Economics

Staff

Katsuhiro Saito, Professor
Kentaro Kawasaki, Associate Professor

Outline

As globalization progresses, the international interdependence of economic phenomena is deepening. To analyze one economic phenomenon, it is necessary to keep in mind the mutual relationship and linkage behind as well as economic theory. Among various economic phenomena, main topics of our research are quantitative economic analysis of economic development and agricultural trade. Current topics such as the relation between International price volatility of grains and food security, changes in agricultural trade due to the increase in biofuel demand, and the evaluation of effects of FTA and TPP on agriculture are also included in our research area.
The research theme of the student is free to choose if economic and quantitative analysis is carried out. Selection of the good research theme is itself a part of the research.
A lot of study and training is necessary to obtain the ability for recognizing which is worth to tackle among economic problems you discover.

Education Policy

It is necessary to master microeconomics, macroeconomics, and methods for quantitative economic analysis. Lectures given by Graduate School of Economics are recommended to take. Our seminar consist of two types: text seminar and thesis guidance seminar. In test seminar, we read fundamental literatures regarding to our research theme. In thesis guidance seminar, each student are required to make a presentation of one's research or academic journal papers that are supposed to be related to one's research topic. We evaluate what the contribution of the research or paper is, and discuss the room for improving the research or the paper. Again, there is no restriction on selecting research theme.

Research topics

• Climate change, crop yield variations and volatility of international prices
• Economic development though resource based exportation in Laos
• Quantitative analysis of potential exportation of Japanese agricultural commodities
• Effects of education, health, natural disaster on household economy in Viet Nam
• Micro credit in rural area and economic growth in Viet Nam
• Quantitative evaluation of Nepalese Land reform

Publication

• KOBAYASHI Shintaro, Katsuhiro SAITO, Hajime Tanji, Huang Wefeng and Minoru TADA, “Economic Structure of Cambodia and Strategies for Pro-Poor Growth: Results from a Computable General Equilibrium Analysis”, Studies in regional science 38(1),2008年、pp. 137-154
• Damaru Ballabha Paudel and Katsuhiro Saito, Technical Inefficiency Effects among National Cereal Grain Balance Producers and Need for Implementation of Land Reform in Nepal, Japanese Journal of Rural Economics Vol 16, 2013, 66-72
• Chatura Wijetunga and Katsuhiro Saito “Evaluating the Fertilizer Subsidy Reforms in the Rice Production Sector in Sri Lanka: A Simulation Analysis”, Advances in Management and Applied Economics 7(1), 2017, 31-51.
• Hideyasu Sato and Katsuhiro Saito, Econometric Analysis of Demand for Milk: Estimation of Elasticities Using the QUAIDS Model, Journal of Rural Economics 89(3), 2017, 214-219. 　(in Japanese)
• Saito Konomi, Katsuhiro Saito and Hideyasu Sato, Rice Yield Variation and International Price of Rice, Soka Economic Review 47, 2018, 39-53. (in Japanese)