معرفی
Nadeeka Weerasekara is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Idaho since April 2023. Her research applies Behavioral and Experimental Economics to address challenges in rural development, entrepreneurship, and food systems, with emphasis on social influence and decision-making processes.
Weerasekara earned her Ph.D. in Applied Economics from Oregon State University (2022), M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2017), and B.Sc. in Agriculture from Wayamba University of Sri Lanka (2014). Her doctoral research examined option saliency and social influence in consumer food demand, while her master's work analyzed social networks in ecosystem conservation.
Her research integrates Behavioral and Experimental Economics to investigate consumer behavior (particularly wine tasting dynamics), producer decision-making, social capital in entrepreneurship, and environmental resource management. Methodologically, she employs experimental design, lab/field experiments, choice experiments, and econometric modeling with tools including STATA, Qualtrics, and Z-Tree.
Recent publications (2014-2023) reveal consistent application of behavioral economics to food demand studies and resource management, with increasing focus on social influence mechanisms. Her 2023 wine tasting studies demonstrate how peer and expert opinions alter consumer choices, while earlier work examines fisheries in India and quality management in Sri Lanka's bottled water industry.
She has received multiple academic recognitions:
- International Student Continuation Scholarship (Oregon State University, 2021-2022)
- Graduate research/teaching assistantships (Oregon State University, 2017; University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2015)
- Excellence at G.C.E. Advanced level examination (2008)
- Best project award from Sri Lanka Environment Conservation Organization (2001)
Weerasekara has taught Agricultural Marketing and Environmental Economics courses as instructor of record at Oregon State University, served as a reviewer for the Journal of Business Economics and AAEA conferences, and managed the Applied Experimental Economics Lab (AEELab) from 2018-2022. Her current work focuses on minority entrepreneurship through behavioral economics frameworks, supported by institutional affiliations with the Western Rural Development Center.
