David J. Leatham

Professor, Associate Head for Graduate Programs
Department of Agricultural Economics
Texas A&M University
TAMU 2124
College Station, Texas 77843-2124
Phone: (409) 845-5806 Fax: (409) 845-6378
Email: d-leatham@tamu.edu

EDUCATION:

B.S. (Agricultural Economics), Brigham Young University, 1977
M.S. (Agricultural Economics), Brigham Young University, 1978
Ph.D (Agricultural Economics), Purdue University, 1983

PROFESSIONAL AND ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS:

Associate Head for Graduate Programs, TAMU, May 1997-present.
Professor of Agricultural Economics, TAMU, Sept. 1996-present
Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics, TAMU, 1989-1996
Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, TAMU, 1983-1989
Research Assistant, Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, 1979-1983
Research Associate, Agricultural Economics, Brigham Young University, 1979
Economist, Inputs and Finance Sector, E.R.S., U.S.D.A., 1977

PROFESSIONAL AWARDS, RECOGNITION AND MEMBERSHIPS:

Member of AAEA, WAEA, SJAE
NC-1041, 2004-present (Agricultural and Rural Finance Markets in Transition)
NC-221, 1998-2003 (Financing Agriculture & Rural America: Issues of Policy, Structure & Technical Change)
Graduate (1998), ESCOP/ACOP Leadership Development Program.
NC-207, 1988-97 (Regulatory, Efficiency and Management Issues Affecting Rural Financial Markets)
Member of Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society; and Recipient of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Award of Excellence for Team Research (one award given annually) (1988)
Regional Agricultural Finance Research Workgroup, NC 161, 1983-87 (Financing Agriculture in a Changing Environment; Macro, Market, Policy and Management), Chair (1989)

TEACHING AND ACADEMIC INITIATIVES:

Financial Management in Agriculture (undergraduate), 36 sections, 1983 present
Fundamentals of Agribusiness and Managerial Economics (graduate), 2002-present
Agricultural Finance (graduate), 1984 present, 7 sections (co taught)
Financial Planning of the Farm Firm (graduate), 3 sections, 1995-97
Commodity Futures and Options (graduate), 4 sections, 1985-88 (co taught)
Special Topics in Agribusiness Finance (undergraduate), 2 sections, 1988

RESEARCH:

My primary research focus is on improving financial decision making for farmers and ranchers. Farmers and ranchers must choose the optimal mix of assets (investment decisions), and the optimal mix of short-term credit, long-term credit and owner’s equity to finance assets (capital structure decisions). The outcome of investment and capital structure decisions is dependent on future events; thus, time and uncertainty must be considered. Much of the work I do is in a risk/return framework where optimal decisions depend on an individual's risk/return preference.

My secondary focus is on improving the ability of financial intermediaries to provide credit to farmer’s and ranchers (agricultural credit). Specifically, my work in this area centers on 1) designing and evaluating financial derivatives that can be used by agricultural lenders to manage interest rate risk, 2) improving credit assessment models, and 3) assessing the impact of deregulation and structural changes on agricultural lender’s ability and willingness to provide credit to agricultural firms. Funding support has been received from the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Agriculture and Life Science Organized Research Development funds, American Bankers Association, University Minigrant Program, Farm Credit Banks of Texas, Farm Credit Council, and National Crop Insurance Services.

SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS:

"Irrigation Technology Adoption and Its Implication for Water Conservation in the Texas High Plains: A Real Options Approach." Agricultural Economics, forthcoming.

"REITs Dynamics Under Structural Change with Unknown Break-Points."Journal of Housing Economics, 16(March 2007):37-58.

"Does Consumer Debt Cause Economic Recession? Evidence Using Directed Acyclic Graphs." Applied Economics Letters, 13(2006):401-407.

"Effects of Federal Risk Management Programs on Optimal Acreage Allocation and Nitrogen Use in a Texas Cotton-Sorghum System." Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 37 (Number 3, December 2005): 685-99.

"Futures Trading Activity and Commodity Cash Price Volatility." Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 32 (No. 1 & 2, January/March 2005), 0306-686X.

"Price and Volatility Transmission in International Wheat Futures Markets." Annals of Economics and Finance, 4(2003):37-50.

"Stock Market Reaction to Food Recalls: A GARCH Application."Applied Economic Letters, 9(2002):979-87.

"External Equity in Agriculture: Risk Sharing and Incentives in a Principal-Agent Relationship." Agricultural Finance Review, 62(No. 1, Spring 2002):13-24.

"Agricultural Liberalization Policy and Commodity Price Volatility: A GARCH Application."Applied Economics Letters, 8(2001):593-98.

"Currency Convertibility and Linkage between Chinese Official and Swap Market Exchange Rates." Contemporary Economic Policy, 19(No. 3,2001):347-59. (T.K. Ann Outstanding Paper Award in International Trade)