Scott Swinton teaches agricultural production economics and ecological economics. His economic research focuses on agricultural systems focuses on management and policy analysis for enhanced ecosystem services. He concentrates on problems involving crop pest and nutrient management, precision agriculture, resource conservation, and management of risks to human health and income. Besides his work on U.S. farming, he is engaged in research on agricultural and natural resource management in Latin America and Africa.

Professional Interests

• Design of incentives to induce adoption of environmentally beneficial farming technologies
• Valuation of ecosystem services linked to agriculture
• Spatial data analysis methods
• Environmental economic impact analysis
• Potential of precision technologies to boost profitability and improve environmental performance
• Assessment of alternative pest and nutrient management policies and practices

Selected Publications

Satriawan, E., and S.M. Swinton 2007. “Does Human Capital Raise Farm or Non-farm Earning More? New Insight from a Rural Pakistan Household Panel.” Agricultural Economics 36(3): 421-428.

Okello, J.J., and S.M. Swinton 2007. “Compliance with International Food Safety Standards in Kenya’s Green Bean Industry: Comparison of a Small and a Large Scale Farm Producing for Export.” Review of Agricultural Economics 29(2): 269-285.

Swinton, S.M., F. Lupi, G.P. Robertson and D.A. Landis 2006. “Ecosystem Services from Agriculture: Looking Beyond the Usual Suspects.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 88(5): 1160-1166.

Liu, Y., S.M. Swinton, and N.R. Miller 2006. “Is Site-specific Yield Response Consistent over Time? Does it Pay?” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 88(2): 471-483.

Robertson, G.P. and S.M. Swinton 2005. “Reconciling Agricultural Productivity and Environmental Integrity: A Grand Challenge for Agriculture.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 3(1): 38-46.

Funded Research Projects

• “Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center,” U.S. Department of Energy, 2007-12. Sub-project on socio-economic responses to availability of cellulosic ethanol technology.
• “Ecosystem Services from Low-input Cropping Systems: Incentives to Produce Them and Value of Consuming Them,” National Science Foundation (Human & Social Dynamics), 2005-09.
• Long Term Ecological Research in Row-crop Agriculture,” National Science Foundation, 2004-09. Objective on economic valuation of ecosystem services.