Dr Alec Zuo

• Biography/ Background

  A/Prof. Alec Zuo is an applied economist specialising in agricultural, environmental, and resource economics. Alec’s research has addressed issues and questions that are fundamental to UN Sustainable Development Goals and Australian National Research Priorities. He is also a part of the Water, Environment and Food economics policy group in the School of Economics and Public Policy. 

  His research has contributed significantly to understanding the impact of climate change and resources on irrigation farming, farmer adaptation strategies, and market-based instruments for water resource management. His research has been published in leading international journals (e.g., Global Environment Change, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, European Review of Agricultural Economics, Energy Economics, etc.) and he has collaboration with researchers from over 20 organisations worldwide on agricultural, resource, environment and development issues across 11 countries in four continents. Alec has substantial experience in initiating and managing large research projects. His research has been funded by the Australian Research Council (currently an ARC Future Fellow), the Australian National Commission for UNESCO, the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, the Australian Consumer & Competition Commission, and the Murray Darling Basin Authority.

   

• Qualifications

  Doctor of Philosophy, 2007, University of South Australia

  Bachelor in Business Administration (First Honour),2003, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.

• Research Interests

  • Environmental and Resource Economics
  • Agricultural Economics
  • Water Markets
  • Climate change adaptation and mitigation 
  • Health Economics

• Research Funding

  • 2023-2027 Quantifying the economic and social impacts of drought in rural Australia, ARC Future Fellowship 

  • 2023-2027 Enterprise choice and sequence strategies that drive sustainable and profitable southern Australian farming systems, GRDC

  • 2022-2025 Impacts of changing water ownership and reforms on Australian water markets, ARC Discovery 

  • 2020-2023 Strengthening small-scale agricultural exports to China: Evaluation of two innovative marketing channels, Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

  • 2019-2020 Consumer preferences for three new mango varieties, an auction experiment, WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

  • 2018-2022 Improving smallholder farmer incomes through strategic market development in mango supply chains in southern Vietnam, ACIAR

  • 2018-2019 Understanding parallel trade of Australian products to China, Federal Department of Agricultural, Water and the Environment  

  • 2017-2018. Loch, Cummins, Zuo, Umberger: Value chain and policy interventions to accelerate adoption of zero tillage in rice-wheat farming systems across the Indo-Gangetic Plains. ACIAR

  • 2017-2019. Zuo, Umberger, Wheeler, Chen, Settre: Challenges and opportunities for meeting requirements of China mango markets. ACIAR through Griffith University
  • 2017-2020. Wheeler, Zuo: Stage II: Increasing irrigation water productivity in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe through on-farm monitoring, adaptive management and AIPs, ACIAR through ANU
  • 2018-2021. Zuo: Improving smallholder farmer incomes through strategic market development in mango supply chains in southern Vietnam. ACIAR through Griffith University
  • 2018-2019. Zuo, Umberger, Wheeler, Fang: Understanding parallel trade of Australian products to China. Department of Agriculture and Water Resoruces.
  • 2016. Wheeler, Zuo: Further funding from Increasing irrigation water productivity in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe through on-farm monitoring, adaptive management and Agricultural Innovation Platforms, ACIAR.
  • 2017. Wheeler, Haensch, Zuo: Literature review on initiatives in the Murray-Darling Basin that embody integral ecology. Catholic Earthcare and Uniting Church.
  • 2016. Zuo, Wheeler, Loch: Irrigator Farm Survey for southern MDB, ACCC. 
  • 2016. Wheeler, Loch, Zuo and Young: Water market readiness framework in the United States, Spain, New Zealand and China. Australian National Commission for UNESCO funding 
  • 2013-2014. Wheeler, Zuo, Loch, Grafton: Federal Department of the Environment Survey of Users of the National Pollutant Inventory
  • 2013-2017. Pittock, Ramshaw, Grafton, Stirzaker Bjornlund, Wheeler, Loch, Zuo, Sibanda, Sullivan, Mbakwe, Munguambe, Nhabetse, Mdemu, Kashaigili, Lwena, Chitanda, Kapufi, Nyamangara, Rooyen, Moyo, Mashingaidze Homann- Kee Tui, Mawokomatanda, Thebe Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) – Cat. 1 Increasing irrigation water productivity in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe through on-farm monitoring, adaptive management and Agricultural Innovation Platforms
  • 2013. Zuo: To leave or not to leave: exploring farm exit and its consequences in the Murray-Darling Basin. Twenty Really Good Grants Scheme, Research and Innovation Services, UniSA
  • 2012-2013. Zuo: Foreign direct investment location in China: a spatial panel data analysis of industry level data. Small Research Grant, Business School, UniSA
  • 2012-2013. Wheeler, Bjornlund, Beecham, Shanahan, Zuo, Loch. Water Trade, Climate Change and Irrigator Adaptability in the Murray-Darling Basin. National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF).

• Publications

  (Please note the publication information below is not updated. Refer to my researcher profile for my most recent publications. 

  https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/alec.zuo) 

   

  Book

  Loch, A, Wheeler, S, Bjornlund, H, Beecham, S, Edwards, J, Zuo, A, Shanahan, M, (2013) The role of water markets in climate change adaptation, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, 126 pp. ISBN: 978-1-925039-01-6

  Book Chapters

  Bjornlund H, Zuo A., Wheeler S. and Xu W. (forthcoming in 2014) Exploring the Reluctance to Embrace Water Markets in Alberta, Canada. In K. William Easter and Qiuqiong Huang (eds) Water Markets for the 21st Century: What we have learned, Westview press.

  Zuo A., Wheeler S., Bjornlund, H. and Shanahan M. (2013) The association between farm management strategies and irrigators’ farm profits over time in the Murray-Darling Basin, Sustainable Irrigation Management Technology and Policies IV, WITPress, Southampton.

  Wheeler S, Zuo A. and Bjornlund, H. (2013) Selling Water for the Environment: How sustainable is it for Irrigators? Sustainable Irrigation Management Technology and Policies IV, WITPress, Southampton

  Bjornlund H., Zuo A., Parrack C., Wheeler S. and de Loe R. (2011) Water reallocation policies: Public perceptions. In Brebbia C. and Popov V. Water Resources Management VI, WITpress, UK, pp 585-595

  Wheeler S., Lane-Miller C., Zuo A., Bjornlund H.(2011) Factor analysis identifying key values held by South Australian and Victorian irrigators in a time of severe drought. In Brebbia C. and Popov V. Water Resources Management VI, WITpress, UK, pp 609-620

  Zuo A., Wheeler S., and Bjornlund H. (2011) Analysing the drivers of irrigator drought strategies in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin. In Brebbia C. and Popov V. (eds) Water Resources Management VI, WITpress, UK, pp 597-607

  Wheeler S., Bjornlund H., Shanahan M. and Zuo A. (2008) Factors Influencing Water Allocation and Entitlement Prices in the Greater Goulburn Area in Australia. In Esteve, Y., Brebbia, C. and Rico, P. (eds) Sustainable Irrigation – Management, Technologies and Policies II, pp 63-72.

  Refereed Journal Articles

  Nauges C, Wheeler S, Zuo A. (forthcoming) Elicitation of irrigators' risk preferences from observed behaviour. Austrlian Journal of Agricultural and Resources Economics

  Zuo A, Wheeler S, Edwards J (forthcoming) Understanding and encouraging greater nature engagement in Australia: results from a national survey, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management

  Zuo A., Wheeler S., Boxall P., Adamowicz V., Hatton-MacDonald D. (forthcoming) Measuring price elasticities of demand and supply of water entitlements based on stated and revealed preference data, American Journal of Agricultural Economics

  Zuo A, Wheeler S, Bjornlund H, Edwards J and Xu W (2015) Exploring generational differences towards water resources and policy preferences of water re-allocation in Alberta, Canada. Water Resource Management, 29, 5073-5089

  Zuo A., Wheeler S., Adamowicz V., Boxall P, Hatton-MacDonald D. (2015) Identifying water prices at which Australian farmers will exit irrigation: results of a stated preference survey, Economic Record, 91, 109-123

  Wheeler S., Zuo A., Loch A. (2015) Watering the farm: Comparing irrigated organic and conventional farm water use in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia, Ecological Economics, 112, 78-85.

  Zuo A., Nauges C., Wheeler S. (2015) Farmers’ exposure to risk and their temporary water trading. European Review of Agricultural Economics. 42, 1-24. 

  Zuo A., Brooks R., Wheeler S, Harris E., Bjornlund H. (2014) ‘Understanding Irrigator Bidding Behavior in Australian Water Markets in Response to Uncertainty', Water 6, 3457-3477

  Wheeler S., Zuo A., Hughes N. (2014) The impact of water ownership and water market trade strategy on Australian irrigators’ farm viability. Agricultural Systems. 129, 81-92

  Wheeler S., Loch A., Zuo A. and Bjornlund H. (2014) Reviewing the Adoption and Impact of Water Markets in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Journal of Hydrology. 518, 28-41

  Wheeler S., Zuo A. and Bjornlund H. (2014) Investigating the delayed on-farm consequences of selling water entitlements in the Murray-Darling Basin. Agricultural Water Management. 145, 72-82

  Wheeler S., Zuo A. and Bjornlund H. (2013) Australian irrigators’ recognition of the need for more environmental water flows and intentions to donate water allocations. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, DOI:10.1080/09640568.2012.736369

  Wheeler S., Zuo A., Bjornlund H. (2013) Farmers’ climate change beliefs and adaptation strategies for a water scarce future in Australia. Global Environmental Change, 23, pp 537-547.

  Bjornlund H., Zuo A., Wheeler S. Xu W. and Edwards J. (2013). Policy preferences for water sharing in Alberta, Canada. Water Resources and Economics, 1, pp 93-110.

  Wheeler S., Bjornlund H., Zuo A. and Edwards J. (2012) Handing down the farm? The increasing uncertainty of irrigated farm succession in Australia. Journal of Rural Studies. 28, pp266-275.

  Tan Y., Zuo A., Hugo G. (2013) How Best to Make Resettlement More Successful in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, China, Based On Survey Data. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 22, pp 77-107.

  Zuo A. and Round D. K. (2012) The impact of foreign direct investment on domestic supplier industries within Chinese provinces. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 17, pp 383-398.

  Wheeler S., Zuo A. and Bjornlund H. and Lane-Miller C. (2012) Selling the farm silver? Understanding water sales to the Australian Government. Environmental and Resource Economics, 52, pp 133-154.

  Lu Z.H. and Zuo A. (2010) Effects of a child’s disability on affected female’s labour supply in Australia. Australian Economic Papers, 49, pp 222-240.

  Wheeler S., Bjornlund H., Zuo A. and Shanahan M. (2010) The changing profile of water traders in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District, Australia. Agricultural Water Management, 97, pp 1333-1343.

  Wheeler S., Bjornlund H., Shanahan M. and Zuo A. (2009) Who trades allocation water? Evidence of the characteristics of early adopters in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District, Australia 1998-99. Agricultural Economics, 40, pp 631-643.

  Wheeler S., Bjornlund H., Shanahan M. and Zuo A. (2008) Price Elasticity of Allocations Water Demand in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District of Victoria, Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Resource Economics. 52, pp 37-55.

  Round D. K. and Zuo A. (2008), The Welfare Goal of Antitrust Laws in Asia: For Whom Should the Law Toil? Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, 22, pp31-56.

  Refereed Conference Papers

  Bjornlund H., Zuo A., and Wheeler S. (2012) Water Reallocation Policies – the importance of rural and urban differences in Alberta, Canada. International Water Resource Economics Consortium (IWREC) at World Water Week, Stockholm, Aug 2012

  Zuo A., Nauges C. and Wheeler S. (2012) Water allocation trading as a risk management strategy, AARES, Sydney, 8-2-13, paper selected in special refereed stream.

  Lu ZH. and Zuo A., Child disability, welfare payment, marital status and the mother’s labor supply. The Econometric Society Australasian Meeting, Melbourne, July 2012.

  Wheeler S., Lane-Miller C., Zuo A. and Bjornlund H. (2010) Who wants to sell Water to the Government and How Much Water do they want to Sell? Proceedings from the Australian Conference of Economists 2010, Sydney, Darling Harbour

  Wheeler S., Lane-Miller C., Zuo A. and Bjornlund H. (2010) To Sell Water or Not to Sell Water to the Government: Exploring the Question Faced by Riverland Irrigators. Proceedings from the Economics and Environment Network Symposium, Canberra. 2010

  Wheeler S., Bjornlund H., Shanahan M. and Zuo A. (2009) The profile of early water trading adopters in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District, paper presented at the Australian Conference of Economists, Adelaide, September 2009.

  Wheeler S., Bjornlund H., Shanahan M and Zuo A. (2008) Modelling the demand for Water entitlements in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District of Australia. Paper presented at Water Down Under Conference, Adelaide, April 2008.

• Professional Associations

  Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society

  Economic Society of Australia

  International Water Resource Economists Consortium

  Chinese Economics Society Australia

• Community Engagement

  Organisation Name:	Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society
  Section:	South Australia State Branch
  Type of Organisation:	Professional organisation
  Level of involvement:	Treasurer
  Year from:	2014

  Organisation Name:	Chinese Economics Society Australia (CESA)
  Type of Organisation:	Professional organisation
  Level of involvement:	Council member
  Year from:	2017

Entry last updated: Friday, 1 Dec 2023

To link to this page, please use the following URL:  https://www.adelaide.edu.au/directory/alec.zuo