Major Box Store Retailer: Friend or Foe?
Wal-Mart’s presence in rural and urban communities is rising.[1] In Montana, there are currently 16…
Author Diane Charlton
Diane Charlton
Diane Charlton is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University. She received her Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of California, Davis. She has done research on agricultural labor markets in Mexico and the United States along with researching the determinants of migration. She never tires of talking about agriculture with her sister and brother-in-law from their almond orchard in the Central Valley of California, and she is looking forward to learning more about and researching agricultural production in Montana and the northern Great Plains.
Retaining Farm Workers: Are Non-Wage Benefits a Determining Factor?
Evidence suggests that improving labor conditions on Mexican export farms might make it more difficult…
The Proposed Farm Workforce Modernization Act
In a 2018 USDA ERS report, my coauthors and I identified 4 indications that the…
How Will Tariff Uncertainty Affect the Agricultural Import Market in China?
The United States and China are making progress towards a partial trade agreement for the short…
USMCA to Increase Exports of Capital-Intensive Agricultural Products
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) provides important opportunities for U.S. agricultural producers. Canada and Mexico…
Mexico: An Important Agricultural Trading Partner
The American Agricultural Economics Association held its annual conference in Atlanta last week. I attended…
Rising U.S. Farm Wages
In a recent study, my coauthors and I find that real U.S. farm wages would have…
A Glance at the Rural Economy
Nonmetro population grew in 2016-17 for the first time in a decade. Declining rural unemployment,…
Technology and the Future of Farm Work
Last week I attended a conference at the World Bank on The Future of Work…
An Economist’s Take on the Plastic Straw Debate
Three controversial bills were recently introduced in the Montana legislature to prohibit restaurants from providing…