Scott Swinton teaches agricultural production economics and ecological economics. His economic research focuses on agriculture as a managed ecosystem, focusing 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
- Design of sustainable bioenergy production systems
- Spatial data analysis methods
- Environmental economic impact analysis
- Assessment of alternative pest and nutrient management policies and practices
Selected Publications
Okello, J.J. and S.M. Swinton. (Forthcoming). “From Circle of Poison to Circle of Virtue: Pesticides, Export Standards and Kenya’s Green Bean Farmers.” Journal of Agricultural Economics.
Zhang, W. and S.M. Swinton. 2009. “Incorporating Natural Enemies in an Economic Threshold for Dynamically Optimal Pest Management.” Ecological Modelling 220(9-10): 1315-1324.
Landis, D.A., M.M. Gardiner, W. van der Werf, and S.M. Swinton. 2008. “Increasing Corn for Biofuel Production Reduces Biocontrol Services in Agricultural Landscapes.” PNAS: Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 105(51): 20552-20557.
Labarta, R.A., D.S. White and S.M. Swinton 2008. “Does Charcoal Production Slow Agricultural Expansion into the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest?” World Development 36(3): 527-540.
Swinton, S.M., F. Lupi, G.P. Robertson and S.K. Hamilton 2007. “Ecosystem Services and Agriculture: Cultivating Agricultural Ecosystems for Diverse Benefits.” Ecological Economics 64(2): 245-252.
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), 2005-10.
- Long Term Ecological Research in Row-crop Agriculture,” National Science Foundation, 2004-10. Objective on economic valuation of ecosystem services.
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