Department of Community Sustainability, Michigan State University
John Kerr received his Ph.D. in applied economics in 1990 at the Food Research Institute, Stanford University. Before joining the faculty at Michigan State University in 1999 he worked at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in Hyderabad, India, and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Washington, DC.
His research interests are in international agricultural development and natural resource management. Focal areas of his research have been on adoption of agricultural technology and natural resource conservation practices, collective action and property rights related to natural resource management, and the interaction of these things with rural poverty in developing countries. He has lived in and conducted research in India, Mexico, and Egypt, and conducted short-term research in many other countries as well. Current projects include one funded by the National Science Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science program titled The Effects of Short-Term Incentives on Social Norms and Behaviors, with field work in Qinghai, China, and another funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation titled AFEX: a technology for addressing seasonality in access to quality cattle feed in India and Africa.