Bhavani Shankar
Professor of International Agriculture, Food and Health
Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH)
and
Centre for Development, Environment and Policy (CeDEP),
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
36 Gordon Square,
London WC1H 0PD
Email: b.shankar@soas.ac.uk
Tel: 0207 958 8263
Background: Bhavani is an applied economist working on research areas at the intersection of
agriculture, food, nutrition and health. His current research interests include the analysis of
economic drivers of over as well as under nutrition, nutrition transition, dietary policy and the role
of agriculture in enabling better nutrition and health. He is co-principal-investigator of an EU FP7
project, EATWELL, that is evaluating dietary policy in Europe. In the past, his research
involvements have included analysis of animal disease in the Mekong region , floodplain resource
management in Bangladesh and the evaluation of transgenic cotton performance in South Africa
and India. He is joint editor of Food Policy, an Elsevier journal.
Publications:
Shankar, B., Morzaria, S., Fiorucci, A and Hak, M (2011). ‘Animal Disease Livestock-Based
Livelihoods in Cambodia’. International Development Planning Review (forthcoming).
Shankar, B., Posri, W. and Srivong, T. (2011). ‘A Case Study Involving Supermarkets and
Smallholders in Thailand’, Canadian Journal of Development Studies (forthcoming).
Shankar, B. (2010). ‘Obesity in China: The Differential Impacts of Covariates along the BMI
Distribution’ Obesity, 18 8, 1660–1666
Shankar, B. (2010). ‘The Socioeconomic Drivers of Overnutrition in China’ Journal of Human
Nutrition and Dietetics, 23(5), 471-479
Traill, B., Shankar, B., Brambila-Macias, J. et. al. (2010) ‘Interventions to Promote Healthy Eating
in Europe’ Obesity Reviews .
Boukouvalas, G., Shankar, B. and Traill, W.B. (2009). ‘Determinants of Fruit and Vegetable Intake
in England: A Re-examination based on Quantile Regression’, Public Health Nutrition, 12(11),
2183-2191
Rahman, S. and Shankar, B. (2009). ‘Profits, Supply and HYV Adoption in Bangladesh’ Journal of
the Asia-Pacific Economy, 14(1), 73-89
Telleria, R., Shankar, B. and Bennett, R. (2009). ‘Would a free trade agreement between Bolivia
and the United States prove beneficial to Bolivian households?’ Journal of International
Agricultural Trade and Development, 5(1), 133-170
Neeliah, H. and Shankar, B. (2008). ‘Ozone Pollution and Farm Profits in England and Wales’,
Applied Economics
Bennett, R., Shankar, B. and Srinivasan, C.S. (2008). ‘The Economics of Agricultrual
Biotechnology: An Overview’, International Journal of Biotechnology, 10 (2/3), 109-112
Shankar, B., Srinivasan, C.S. and Irz, X. (2008). 'WHO Dietary Norms: A Quantitative Evaluation
of Potential Consumption Impacts in the US, UK and France', Review of Agricultural Economics,
30(1), 151-175
Crost, B. and Shankar, B. (2008). 'Bt Cotton and Production Risk: Panel Data Evidence',
International Journal of Biotechnology, 10 (2/3), 122-131
Liu, Y. and Shankar, B. (2007). ‘Will Rising Household Incomes Solve China’s Micronutrient
Deficiency Problems?’ Economics Bulletin 15(10), 1-14
Shankar, B., Bennett, R. and Morse, S., (2007). ‘Production Risk and GM Crop Technology in
South Africa’, Applied Economics
Posri, W., Shankar, B. and Chadbunchachai, S. (2007). ‘Consumer Attitudes Towards and
Willingness to Pay for Pesticide Residue Limit Compliant ‘Safe’ Vegetables in Northeast Thailand’,
Journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing, 19(1), 81-101.
Crost, B., Shankar, B., Bennett, R. and Morse, S. (2007). ‘Bias from Farmer Self-Selection in GM
Crop Productivity Estimates: Evidence from Indian Data’, Journal of Agricultural Economics, 58(1),
24-36.
Shankar, B., Bennett, R. and Morse, S. (2007), ‘Output Risk Aspects of Genetically Modified Crop
Technology in South Africa’, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 16(4), 277-291.
Srinivasan, C. S., Irz, X. and Shankar, B. (2006). ‘An Assessment of the Potential Consumption
Impacts of WHO Dietary Norms in OECD Countries’, Food Policy, 31(1), 53-77.
Morse, S., Bennett, R. Ismael, Y. and Shankar, B. (2005) ‘Reductions in insecticide use from
adoption of Bt cotton in South Africa: Impacts on economic performance and toxic load to the
environment’, Journal of Agricultural Science, 142 1-10
Shankar, B. and C. Thirtle, (2005) ‘Pesticide Productictivity and Transgenic Technology: The
South African Smallholder Case’, Journal of Agricultural Economics, 56(1), 97-116.
Shankar, B. and H. Neeliah, (2005) ‘Tropospheric Ozone and Winter Wheat Production in England
and Wales’, Journal of Agricultural Economics, 56(1), 145-152.
Dhamvithee, P., Shankar, B., Jangchud, A. and Wutijumnong, P., (2005) ‘New Product
Development in Thai Agro-Industry: Explaining the Rates of Innovation and Success in
Innovation’, International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 8(3), 1-20.
Shankar, B. and Barr, J., (2005) 'Early Flood Events and Their Impact on Poor
Smallholders in Rice-Based Floodplain Farming Systems in Bangladesh', Journal of
International Farm Management, 3(1), 1-16.
Shankar, B., Halls, A. and Barr, J. (2005). The Effects of Surface Water Abstraction for Rice
Irrigation on Floodplain Fish Production in Bangladesh. International Journal of Water. 3(1), 61-84.
Shankar, B. and Hadley, D., (2005) ‘On the Measurement of Subset Input Overuse using Data
Envelopment Analysis’, Empirical Economics Letters, 4(3), 1-8.
Gouse, M., Kirsten, J., Shankar, B. and Thirtle, C. (2005) ‘Bt Cotton in KwaZulu Natal:
Technological Triumph but Institutional Failure?’ Agbiotechnet, 7(1), 1-7.
Shankar, B. and Barr, J. (2004). Exposure of Bangladeshi Rice Farmers to Early Flood Risk.
International Rice Research Notes, 28(2), 60-61.
Shankar, B., Halls, A. and Barr, J. (2004). Rice versus Fish Revisited: On the Integrated
Management of Floodplain Resources in Bangladesh. Natural Resources Forum, 28(2), 91-101.
Shankar, B., Piesse, J. and Thirtle, C. (2003). Energy Substitutability in Transition Agriculture:
Estimates and Implications for Hungary. Agricultural Economics, 29(3), 181-193.
Holloway, G., Shankar, B. and Rahman, S. (2002). Bayesian Spatial Probit Estimation: A primer
and an application to HYV rice adoption. Agricultural Economics, 2002, 27 (3).
Piesse, J., Hadley, D., Shankar, B. and Thirtle, C. (2002). The Efficiency of Input Use during the
Early Transition in Hungary. Economics of Planning, 35: 183-204.
Leiva, A. and B. Shankar (2001), “Drought Risk in Nicaragua: A Crop, Technology and Region
Specific Empirical Evaluation’, Journal of Risk Research, 4(3), 275-290.
Shankar, B., E.A. DeVuyst, D.C. White, J.B. Braden and R.H. Hornbaker (2000), “Nitrate
Abatement, Farm Profits and Lake Water Quality: A Central Illinois Case Study”, Journal of Soil
and Water Conservation, 55(3), 296-303.
Thirtle C.G., B. Shankar, P. Chitkara, S. Chatterjee and M. Mohanty (2000), “Size Does Matter:
Technical and Scale Efficiency in Indian State Tax Jurisdictions”, Review of Development
Economics, 4(3), 340-352.
Hadley, D.J., B. Shankar and C.G.Thirtle (1999), “Was South African Agriculture Overcapitalized
in the Apartheid Era?” Agrekon, 38(4), 777-787
Shankar, B., and C.H. Nelson (1999), “Joint Risk Preference - Technology Estimation with a
Primal System: Comment”, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 81:241-244.
Book Chapters
Gouse, M., Shankar, B. and Thirtle, C. (2008) “The Demise of Bt Cotton in KwaZulu Natal”, W.G.
Moseley and L.C. Gray (eds.). Hanging by a Thread: Cotton, Globalization and Poverty in Africa,
Ohio University Press.
Srinivasan, C.S., Shankar, B. and Thirtle, C. (2004) “An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of Plant
Variety Protection on Innovation and Transferability”, in Katrak, H. and Roger Strange (eds.) WTO
and Developing Countries, Palgrave Macmillan.
Shankar, B. (2000), “Cost Functions” in Reader’s Guide to the Social Sciences, London: Fitzroy
Dearborn Publishers.