Interactions between a changing agricultural landscape and regional trade

Over the past few decades, international trade including agricultural commodities has grown substantially both in physical volume and in value. International trade of agricultural products masks the true distribution of agricultural land services by importing and exporting agricultural goods through trade. This dissertation studies the agricultural landscape changes and environmental damages implications of increasing agricultural trade. Chapter 2 develops a spatial model that extends von Thunen theory with a focus on land use specialization. Using numerical simulations, we illustrate how agricultural land use would be changed in different locations due to regional trade. Chapter 3 focuses on another implication of the increasing agricultural trade, that is, resource intensification and the resulting environmental damages. We empirically analyze the relationship between important driving factors including land use specialization and intensification of production, and investigate the internalization of environmental damages from chemical fertilizers. Using Illinois county level data, a biophysical model is developed to analyze the internalization of environmental damages. The model specifically discusses the location effects on damage internalization as well as other driving factors. In Chapter 4, the impact of the agricultural specialization is further analyzed from the perspective of crop failure and systematic risks. The analysis focuses on the question of how systematic risk has been changes due to the specialization effect from international trade, that is, the increasing crop yield risk due to higher geographical correlations of crop yield failures.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Natural Res & Env Sciences

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Liang, Xing

Contributors dc:contributor

• Brazee, Richard
• Mendoza, Guillermo
• Önal, Hayri
• Amacher, Gregory

• agricultural trade
• land use
• von Thunen

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Xing Liang

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109529

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/109529