Mariah Ehmke
Agribusiness Strategy and Ethics
The purpose of this course is to enable you to develop well-informed analysis of real-life business strategic management and ethical decisions in agribusiness and resource-based industries. The course is designed to build your ability to employ strategic approaches as well as incorporate ethical considerations into entrepreneurial decision processes. You will draw on acquired and new knowledge and skills from previous courses as well as the current course. You will complete a strategic business plan based on your research of a strategic management decision from a real business. You will also build your knowledge of ethical frameworks to assess management decisions. This will enable you to provide ethically based recommendations for an agribusiness or resource-based business.
Consumer Theory and Behavior
This course is designed to give you a behind-the-scenes aspects of consumer theory and behavior. We begin with definitions of and restrictions to choice or opportunity sets. We then examine consumer preferences representation using utility functions. The study of opportunity sets and utility functions is brought together in the determination of consumer demand functions. Indirect utility and expenditure functions will be studied to examine additional consumer demand and welfare issues. We will then consider how time and risk preferences may be incorporated into consumer demand models through expected utility and discounted utility theories. At the end of the course, you will consider demand aggregation from individual to household contexts for social welfare analysis. Throughout the course, journal readings and research presentations will be incorporated into the course to highlight consumer theory applications to agricultural and applied economics issues.
Agribusiness Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is one of the pillars of the University of Wyoming. In this class, agribusiness students explore life outside of the classroom, running a business. In addition to conventional managerial practices, students explore the role of creativity and innovation in the venture formation process. This class prepares students to enter new ventures, advise start-ups in agriculture, and evaluate new business proposals.
International Agriculture, Trade, and Policy
Students take off on an agricultural tour of the world in this course. We make stops around the globe to understand international food production and demand. Students master a variety of international trade models. These models are used in advanced undergraduate economic modeling and policy analysis to inform real-world policy issues.
World Food, Agriculture, and Development
This course provides analysis across multiple dimensions of food security, nutrition, agricultural development, and economic development in vulnerable countries and sub-populations. We explore policies to address economic development, agriculture development, and food policy challenges through collaborative learning experiences.
Consumer Theory and Behavior
This graduate course focuses on microeconomic theory to explain consumer food choice. We utilize neoclassical economic theory to explain consumer utility maximization subject to income constraints. Students explore the inter-relationship among food items using elasticity analysis. The course is a launching point to critique existing food demand research and commence on new research projects.