Yuqing Zheng

Professional Profile

Professor Zheng's current research focuses on (1) examining private and public food safety standards from firm's perspective (e.g., producers choosing certifiers in the food safety certification [such as the British Retail Consortium standard, BRC standard] and organic certification markets), (2) government program/policy impact (e.g., grocery food sales tax impact on food insecurity, eating habit, and health), and (3) demand studies using big data and more recently using machine learning methods (at the University of Kentucky we have access to the Nielsen scanner data), focusing on tobacco (especially e-cigarettes) and beverage products.

He has published papers in American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Health Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, PLOS ONE, Economic Inquiry, Southern Economic Journal, and Economics Letters, among others. His research has been/was funded by the USDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FDA CFSAN) and Center for Tobacco Products (FDA CTP). He directed the development of the FDA Food Regulation and Enforcement Policy Trade Impact Model and the FDA Tobacco Category Demand Model. His paper on sales tax received the 2013 Best Economics Paper Award from the food safety and nutrition section of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Dr. Zheng is an associate editor of Tobacco Regulatory Science and on the editorial board of Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

Contact me for assistance with:

Food marketing, food safety certification, consumer demand

University/Committee Involvement

Advisory board, University of Kentucky Quantitative Initiative for Policy and Social Research (QIPSR)

AEC graduate committee

Recent Publications:

Lawani, A., M. Reed, T. Mark, and Y. Zheng. 2019. “Impact of Reviews on Price: Evidence from Sentiment Analysis of Airbnb Reviews in Boston”, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 75(C): 22–34.

Bar, T., and Y. Zheng. 2019. “Choosing Certifiers: Evidence from the British Retail Consortium Food Safety Standard”, American Journal of Agricultural, 101(1): 74–88.

Zarebanadkoki, S., M. Nemati, and Y. Zheng. 2018. “A Systematic Review of Consumer Preference for E-Cigarette Attributes: Flavor, Nicotine Strength, and Type”, Plos One, 13(3): e0194145.

Zheng, Y., C. Zhen, D. Dench, J. Nonnemaker. 2017. “US Tobacco Demand in a System Framework.” Health Economics, 26(8): 1067-86.

Zheng, Y., C. Zhen, J. Nonnemaker, D. Dench. 2016. “Advertising, Habit Formation, and U.S. Tobacco Products Demand.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 98(4): 1038-54.

Google Scholar citations

RePEc