Wei Zhang

Wei Zhang is a Non-Inst PT Temp Fac/Sum Res Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Her research focuses on agri-environmental policy, environmental economics, and natural resource economics, with a particular emphasis on China and developing countries. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis (2013), an M.S. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2008), and a B.S. from Nankai University (2005).

Dr. Zhang’s current research includes analyzing the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program’s impacts, nature reserves and rural households in China, biological capital measurement through living trees and vines, climate change effects on agricultural productivity, and U.S. vegetable waste reduction. She teaches courses such as AAEC 3324 (Environment and Sustainable Development Economics), AAEC 6554 (Panel Data Econometrics), and AAEC 6524 (Environmental Economic Theory and Policy Analysis).

Her publications span environmental policy effectiveness, dairy industry regulations, food waste measurement, and climate policy impacts. Recent work highlights include studies on solar energy’s influence on property values and the cognitive effects of air pollution in China. She has received awards like the 2021 GAP Initiative Fellowship and the 2020 ISCE Scholars Program recognition.

Dr. Zhang’s grants and advising activities are not explicitly detailed in the provided texts, but her extensive publication record underscores her contributions to agricultural sustainability and environmental policy analysis. She is affiliated with Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences implicitly through her departmental placement.