Duke Lab
Welcome to Dr. Josh Duke’s laboratory, Head & Professor of Auburn’s Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology.
News & Lab Research

Auburn shares $28 million grant to meet rural challenges
Auburn University is one of three universities sharing a $28 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), to establish an Institute for Rural Partnership to research the causes and conditions of...

Faculty team places first in USDA challenge
A team of Auburn University faculty members from the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, and Sciences and Mathematics placed first in the national Coleridge Initiative Food for Thought Data Challenge, in association with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The team...

Study explores plant-based meat alternatives buying habits
A recent study led by Auburn University agricultural economists suggests that plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) might be seen by consumers as a niche product rather than as an actual substitute for meat. “We realized there is very little information about how...
Lab Activities
From September to December 2019, Dr. Duke hosted four visiting scholars of Agricultural Economics from Huazhong Agricultural University, China. During their stay, Dr.Duke helped them to enroll in classes like Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Production Economics and Agribusiness Finance from AgEcon Department and Microeconometrics from Econ Department.
Meanwhile, with the help of Dr. Liu, Dr. Duke provided a variety of research training to these visiting scholars including
- Weekly lab meetings to read and discuss journal papers which were selected according to their research interests;
- Tips on writing a journal article and identifying a targeting journal;
- Inviting them to partly participate in ongoing projects. To practice their presentation skills and oral English, the lab also offered them to present their own research in China and Dr.Duke provided suggestions and comments to each of them.
(Person in the picture from left to right: Xutao Qu, Chenchen Tang, Dr. Duke, Dr. Liu, Huan Mao, and Liwen Yuan)
Recent Awards
- USDA National Award for Excellence
- 2018 Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Delaware
- 2017 Excellence in Teaching and Advising Award, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Delaware
- David C. Lincoln Fellowship 2017-2018
Recent Selected Professional Activities
- Water Resources Research – Associate Editor (2013-2017)
- Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association – President (elected 2012)
- Water Science and Policy, Program Committee
- Advisory Panel on Nutrient Trading, Chesapeake Bay Commission
- Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association – Distinguished Member
- Land Economics – Editorial Board (2007-)
Impact Measures
Citation metrics from Thomson-Reuters
1,059 citations on 50 Web of Science articles as of 8/6/21, with 14 h-index and 7.4% self-cites. 2,639 citations from Google Scholar.
When compared to the other 197 PhD graduates in 1998 from all 37 Applied Economics PhD programs in the U.S. and Canada, the names of whom were published in AJAE, these citations rank 7th of 197 (top 3.5%) on Thomson-Reuters (analysis conducted November 2015).