Outline and Policy

Among the challenges confronting modern society, issues related to food, the environment, and agriculture are raising particular concern. Policies that address these problems are urgently needed.

The Division of Natural Resource Economics was established in response to such a need. The methods of our studies, which are based on the natural sciences, adopt social science concepts from the fields of economics, management studies, sociology, and historical science.

Our research tracks include the following: food supply systems linking consumers with the agriculture, forestry, and food industries; policies to reinvigorate regional communities and their economies; global issues in relation to regional agriculture, forestry, and the environment; studies on poverty elimination and the use of natural resources in developing countries; comparative historical studies on agriculture and agricultural communities; and studies on food and agriculture with respect to culture, society, and ideas. These programs are unique in that they introduce fieldwork into the social sciences.

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