Professional Positions

Junior Professor of International Agricultural Economics (since 3/2009)
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany

Postdoctoral researcher (9/2008 – 2/2009)
Co-Innovation for Quality in African Food Chains, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands

Postdoctoral researcher (10/2007 – 7/2008)
Agroecosystems Management Program, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA

Postdoctoral researcher (1/2007 – 10/2007)
Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Research associate (7/2002 – 10/2006)
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany

Coordinator of M.Sc. program in International Agribusiness (7/2002 – 7/2005)
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany



Education

Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences/ Socio-economics of Rural Development (2006)
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany

Visiting scholar (8 –12/2005 and 2–4/2006)
Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

M.Sc. (Diplom) in Geography
Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany (2002)


Awards and Honors

Josef G. Knoll European Science Award 2008 of the Eiselen Foundation
Grantee of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, 2007
T.W. Schultz Best Contributed Paper Award for Young Economists 2006 (3rd place) of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE)
Grantee of the German Academic Exchange Service for research fellowship at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, 2005
Hans H. Ruthenberg Award for Graduates 2002 of the Eiselen Foundation


Main Research Areas

My research focuses on the re-structuring of global agricultural markets and the implications for farmers and other actors of the value chain in developing countries. Past and current research addresses farm-level decision making in the context of resource management, technology choice and market participation through the use of original survey data and econometric techniques. Major emphasis is placed on the role of institutions in linking farmers to modern agricultural markets and the effects of institutional and contractual arrangements on producer income, food security and resource use. I have conducted field research and farm level surveys in various Latin American countries including Honduras, Costa Rica, Mexico, Bolivia, and Ecuador.