Professor of Applied Economics and Idaho Wheat Commission Bill Flory Endowed Chair in Risk Management, University of Idaho
Food, Consumers, and Sustainability
The newest stream of my research examines how the food system is responding to inflation, new technologies, and climate commitments. With support from a USDA NIFA AFRI grant, my group is studying the dairy supply chain’s path toward net zero, from what leading processors’ emissions goals actually contain, to what Idaho dairy producers say about carbon reduction projects, to how consumers value low-carbon dairy products.
Related work uses experimental and survey methods to study consumer willingness to pay for improved food safety, acceptance of gene editing and nanotechnology in food production, animal welfare valuation, and how COVID-19 changed household food spending. A final strand examines institutions and the environment, including climate disasters and institutional integrity.
Representative publications
Zhang, Q., and Etienne, X.L. Trust, self-efficacy, and risk: Behavioral drivers of consumer acceptance of gene editing and nanotechnology in poultry production. Forthcoming. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics.
Zhao, M.*, Etienne, X.L., Tejeda, H.#, and Trujillo-Barrera, A. 2026. What dairy processors say about net zero: Insights from industry leaders. Forthcoming. Applied Economics Education and Extension.
Zhao, M.*, Etienne, X.L., Tejeda, H., and Trujillo-Barrera, A.# 2026. Net zero by 2050: Is dairy processing ready? An evaluation of the top dairy companies’ emissions reduction goals. Choices, 41(1), 1–9. doi
Khurana, R.*, Elbakidze, L., and Etienne, X.L.# 2025. Institutional integrity and carbon emissions. Forthcoming. Applied Economics. doi
Li, Y.*, Huang, K., Guan, Z.#, and Etienne, X.L. 2025. From surplus to deficit: Decoding the fundamental shift in U.S. agricultural trade. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 47(5), 1774–1790. doi
Huang, K.*, Etienne, X.L.#, and Sant’Anna, A.C. 2025. Risk perceptions, risk preferences, and consumer willingness-to-pay for improved food safety. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 57(3), 514–543. doi
Hand, T.*, Etienne, X.L., Tejeda, H., and Trujillo-Barrera, A.# 2024. U.S. dairy going toward net zero: What do Idaho dairy producers say? Choices, 39(4), 1–8. doi
Li, J.*, Zhang, Q., and Etienne, X.L.# 2024. Optimal carbon emission reduction path of the building sector: Evidence from China. Science of the Total Environment, 170553. doi
Khurana, R.*, Mugabe, D.*, and Etienne, X.L. 2022. Climate change, natural disasters, and institutional integrity. World Development, 157, 105931. doi
Huang, K.*, Sant’Anna, A.C., and Etienne, X.L. 2021. How did COVID-19 impact U.S. household food spending? An analysis six months in. PLoS ONE, 16(9), e0256921. doi
Jiang, W.*, Paudel, S.*, Amarasekara, N.*, Zhang, Y., Etienne, X.L., Jones, L.*, Li, K.*, Hansen, F., Jaczynski, J., and Shen, C.# 2021. Survey of small produce growers’ perception of antibiotic resistance issues at farmers markets. Food Control, 125, 1079–1097. doi
Wang, J., Etienne, X.L.#, and Ma, Y. 2020. Deregulation, technical efficiency, and production risk in rice farming: Evidence from Zhejiang, China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 12(4), 605–622. doi
Etienne, X.L., Ferrara, G., and Mugabe, D.* 2019. How efficient is maize production among smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe? A comparison of semiparametric and parametric frontier efficiency analyses. Applied Economics, 51(26), 2855–2871. doi
In progress
Zhang, Q., and Etienne, X.L. Framed by risk: Consumer valuation of mobile poultry processing units in the United States. Under review.
Zhang, Q., and Etienne, X.L. Latent motives, information framing, and willingness to pay for animal welfare in poultry production. Under review.
Bastakoti, S.*, Etienne, X.L., and Tejeda, H. From slaughter to supper: Modeling beef product flows and food miles in the United States. Under review.