Dr. Zoë T. Plakias
Applied Economist
Dr. Zoë T. Plakias
Current Areas of Scholarship
Food Systems
Some questions I'm interested in:
-
How can we build a food system of the future that's better for all people and the environment?
-
Are food system innovations and policies always meeting their intended goals? If not, how can we improve?
-
What forms of power are present in the food system and how are they allocated? How could the balance of power be shifted?
​
Environment + Resources
Some questions I'm interested in: ​
-
Are state-level cap and trade programs having their intended impacts? If not, how can we improve?
-
Can nonmarket valuation methods used to value environmental amenities be expanded to look at social impacts and amenities of policies?
-
How common is regenerative agriculture, and is it having its intended impacts on the environment?
Higher Education
Some questions I'm interested in:
-
What pedagogical techniques are most effective for teaching about food, agricultural, and environmental economics?
-
How do we alleviate disparities in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and institutional type in how we do our work as applied economists?
-
How do we approach the pressure to integrate generative AI in our work as researchers and teachers?
Publications + Working Papers
Peer-reviewed journal article
Working through the Fog: Embedding Social Infrastructure in Food System Resilience [view article]
Journal: Agriculture and Human Values
Authors: Shoshanah Inwood, Jill Clark, Aiden Irish, Mary Hendrickson, Zoë Plakias, Josh D. Vittie, and Bill McKelvey
Publication year: 2025
Peer-reviewed journal article
A Food Pantry Nutrition Education Program RCT: Food Choices and Diet-Quality [view article]
Journal: American Journal of Health Promotion
Authors: Bhagyashree Katare, Brittni Echols, Zoë Plakias, Rodolfo Nayga, Jr., and Krystal Hodge
Publication year: 2025
Peer-reviewed journal article
Engaging students in Open Dialogue about use of ai tools in Economics courses [view article]
Journal: Applied Economics Teaching Resources
Authors: Zoë Plakias
Publication year: 2025
Peer-reviewed journal article
Household Food Security and Food Sourcing Patterns during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Appalachian Ohio [View ARTICLE]
Journal: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Authors: Kyle R. Busse, Kathryn I. Poppe, Qiang Wu, Stephanie B. Jilcott Pitts, Lindsey Haynes-Maslow, Alice S. Ammerman, Kathleen Krzyzanowski Guerra, Zoë Plakias, Andrew S. Hanks, Katharine Garrity, Rachel Gillespie, Bailey Houghtaling, Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler, and Jennifer Garner
Publication year: 2025
Peer-reviewed journal article
Estimating Perennial Crop Supply Response: A Methodology Literature Review [VIEW ARTICLE]
Journal: Agricultural Economics
Authors: Jonathon Siegle, Gregory Astill, Zoë Plakias, and Daniel Tregeagle
Publication year: 2024
Awards for this work: Outstanding Published Paper Award which Significantly Contributed to the SCE Discipline (Specialty Crop Economics Section, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association); David Merrifield Faculty Research Award (College of Business and Economics, Western Washington University)
Peer-reviewed journal article
Food insecurity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and use of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Appalachian Ohio [View ARTICLE]
Journal: PLoS ONE
Authors: Lei Xu, Zoë Plakias, Andrew Hanks, and Jennifer Garner
Publication year: 2024
Peer-reviewed journal article
Leveraging Every Door Direct Mail for Remote Recruitment of a Rural Study Sample: Response Rate and Representativeness [view article]
Journal: Preventive Medicine Reports
Authors: Khawlah Al-Muhanna, Katharine Jeane Garrity, Zoë Plakias, Andrew Hanks, and Jennifer Garner
Publication year: 2023
Peer-reviewed journal article
Economic Governance of Cannabis: Implications of Polycentric Governance in Mendocino County [VIEW ARTICLE]
Journal: Public Administration Quarterly
Authors: Keith Taylor, Nathan Goodman, Parisa Kavousi, Taylor Giamo, Gwen Arnold, and Zoë Plakias
Publication year: 2023
Peer-reviewed book chapter
Consumer CooperativeS: Purpose and Possibilities [VIEW Book Chapter]
Book: Handbook of Cooperatives and Mutuals (Matthew Elliott and Michael Boland, eds.)
Authors: Zoë Plakias and Jason Scott Entsminger
Publication year: 2023
Outreach publication
Preparing for Food System Resiliency in Ohio: Policy and Planning Lessons from COVID-19 [view report]
Format: Technical report
Authors: Shoshanah Inwood, Zoë Plakias, Jill Clark, Nicole Wright, Aiden Irish, and Josh Vittie
Publication year: 2022
Peer-reviewed book chapter
Interdisciplinary System and network Perspectives in Food and Agricultural Economics [View book chapter]
Book: Handbook of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 6 (Chris Barrett and David Just, eds.)
Authors: Chyi-Lyi (Kathleen) Liang and Zoë Plakias
Publication year: 2022
Peer-reviewed journal article
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Local Ice Cream: Consumer Preference for Locally Processed and Packaged Foods [View article]
Journal: Agribusiness
Authors: Xiao Dong, H. Allen Klaiber, and Zoë T. Plakias
Publication year: 2023
Peer-reviewed journal article
Past, Present, and Future: Status of Women and Minority Faculty in Agricultural and Applied Economics [view Article]
Journal: Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy
Authors: Jana Hilsenroth, Anna Josephson, Kelly Grogan, Lurleen Walters, Zoë Plakias, Leah Palm-Forster, Simanti Banerjee, and Tara Wade
Publication year: 2022
Peer-reviewed journal article
ON THE Money: Characterizing Banking and Lending in the California Cannabis Industry [VIEW ARTICLE]
Journal: Agricultural Finance Review
Authors: Zoë Plakias, Margaret Jodlowski, Taylor Giamo, Parisa Kavousi, and Keith Taylor
Publication year: 2022
Peer-reviewed journal article
Which schools receive state-level support for local food purchases? Evidence from reimbursement incentive programs in Michigan and Oregon
Journal: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems
Authors: Jeff O'Hara, Becca Jablonski, and Zoë Plakias
Publication year: 2022
Peer-reviewed journal article
Measuring the Welfare Impacts of Local Food Sourcing by Institutions: A Cost-Benefit Analysis Approach [VIEW ARTICLE]
Journal: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
Authors: Zoë Plakias
Publication year: 2021
Peer-reviewed journal article
Short Value Chain Models of Healthy Food Access: A Qualitative Study of Two Approaches [VIEW ARTICLE]
Journal: Nutrients
Authors: Kathleen Krzyzanowski Guerra, Drew Hanks, Zoë T. Plakias, Susie Huser, Tom Redfern, and Jennifer Garner
Publication year: 2021
Working paper
Healthy Food, Healthy Farms? Implications of Healthy Food Policies for Agricultural Value Chains [REQuest Manuscript]
Authors: Zoë T. Plakias, Seung-hun Chung, and Lei Xu
Most recent version: 2021
Peer-reviewed journal article
Increasing Student Engagement with Agriculture in a Changing Academic Environment [VIEW ARTICLE]
Journal: Applied Economics Teaching Resources
Authors: Kristin Kiesel, Na Zuo, Zoë Plakias, Luis Moises Peña-Lévano, Andrew Barkley, Katherine Lacy, Erik Hanson, and Julianne Treme
Publication year: 2020
Peer-reviewed journal article
Lean on your Land Grant: One University's approach to address Food Supply Chain Workforce during the COVID-19 Pandemic [VIEW ARTICLE]
Journal: Journal of Agromedicine
Authors: Dee S. Jepsen, Lisa Pfeifer, Lyda Garcia, Zoë Plakias, Shoshanah Inwood, Joy Rumble, Mary Rodriguez, Judit Puskas, and Sam Custer
Publication year: 2020
Peer-reviewed journal article
Tradeoffs in Farm to School Implementation: Larger Foodsheds Drive GREATER Local Food Expenditures [VIEW ARTICLE]
Journal: Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Authors: Zoë Plakias, H. Allen Klaiber and Brian E. Roe
Publication year: 2020
Peer-reviewed journal article
Terminated marketing order provided resources to California Peach and Nectarine Growers [View article]
Journal: California Agriculture
Authors: Zoë Plakias, Rachael E. Goodhue and Jeffrey Williams
Publication year: 2020
Working paper
The Mexican PROCAMPO Farmland Subsidy and Its Effectiveness as a Rural Anti-Poverty Program [view working paper]
Authors: Ariadna Martínez González, Zoë Plakias and Mark Partridge
Most recent version: 2019
Peer-reviewed journal article
Direct Marketing Channel Choices Among U.S. Farmers: Evidence from the Local Food Marketing Practices Survey [VIEW article]
Journal: Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems
Authors: Zoë Plakias, Iryna Demko and Ani L. Katchova
Publication year: 2019
Outreach publication
The Economic Contribution of Agricultural and Food Production to the Ohio Economy [VIEW REPORT]
Format: Peer-reviewed department-published research report
Authors: Janice DiCarolis, Tim Haab, Zoë Plakias, Ian Sheldon, Brent Sohngen, and Kelli Trinoskey
Publication year: 2017
Outreach publication
Growers’ Assessments of Challenges Facing the California Rice Industry: Past and Present [VIEW article]
Journal: ARE Update
Authors: Zoë Plakias and Rachael E. Goodhue
Publication year: 2016
Working paper
Optimal Licensing for Public Intellectual Property: Theory and Application to Plant Variety Patents [VIEW WORKING PAPer]
Authors: Zoë Plakias and Julian Alston
Most recent version: 2015
Peer-reviewed journal article
Producer Heterogeneity and Voting Power in Mandatory US Agricultural Marketing Organisations [VIEW article]
Journal: European Review of Agricultural Economics
Authors: Zoë Plakias and Rachael E. Goodhue
Publication year: 2015
Working paper
The Evolution of the California Blueberry Industry: A Social Network Analysis Approach [View working paper]
Authors: Zoë Plakias
Most recent version: 2014
Outreach publication
Old Dog, New Tricks: The Changing Role of California’s Agricultural Marketing Organizations [VIEW article]
Journal: ARE Update
Authors: Zoë Plakias
Publication year: 2013
Teaching, Advising, and Mentorship
ECON 206: Introduction to microEconomics
This course provides an overview of the modern market economy as a system for dealing with the problem of scarcity. Operation and decision-making of economic units; supply, demand and resource allocation; analysis of various market and industry structures; shortages, controls, social costs and benefits; international trade; comparative systems. This course is open to undergraduates who have taken MATH 112 or the equivalent or who have a suitable math assessment score.
​
ECON 343: Population, Environment, and World Agriculture
This course utilizes economic principles to understand the interactions among population growth, food demand, agricultural development, and natural resource utilization, degradation, and conservation. This course is open to undergraduates who have taken ECON 206 or HNRS 209 or HNRS 254 or HNRS 202.
​
ECON 410: Benefit-Cost Analysis
Benefit-cost analysis is an important tool for evaluating the economic impacts of public or private actions. Course provides students with a thorough understanding of the logical underpinnings of benefit-cost analysis and experience in applying benefit-cost analysis to ‘real-world’ problems. This course is open to undergraduates who have taken ECON 306 or ECON 309 or the equivalent.
​
ECON 482: Advanced Topics in Environmental Economics
This course examines an extended set of applications in environmental economics, with a focus on deepening the student’s understanding of the field. Applications involve current controversies in environmental policy and management, as well as methodological issues. Topics include climate change, solid waste management and recycling, water quality, and other issues of current interest. This course is open to undergraduates who have taken ECON 383 or the equivalent and is a Writing Proficiency 3 course. It is also a required course for the Business and Sustainability major.
​
ECON 483: Resource Economics
This course examines principles of efficient resource allocation over time, distributional equity and cost/benefit analysis. Examines minerals and other exhaustible resources; forests, fisheries and other renewable resources; and public goods such as water and wilderness. This course is open to undergraduates who have taken ECON 306 or 309.
​
STUdent Advising
I advise undergraduate students in the Western Washington University Economics major and related combined majors. The Economics Department does not have a graduate program. If you are a current student in any field at Western, please don't hesitate to contact me to discuss opportunities.​
​
​
Mentorship
I primarily engage in mentorship via professional associations--the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) and Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society (AFHVS). I am a past chair of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Mentorship Program Committee and past organizer of an AAEA Early Career Mentorship Workshop. I am also a co-founder and lead organizer of the USDA AMS-AAEA GSS Local Food Economics Data Visualization Challenge (coming back in 2026 and 2027!), which is a challenge for graduate students in agricultural and applied economics programs in the US. If you are a student or scholar seeking mentorship, I may not be able to mentor you extensively myself, but I would be happy to direct you to relevant resources, so feel free to reach out.​
​
​
JOB MARKET Resources
I created and manage the free Substack resource Applied Econ Jobs. I post four jobs per weekday for economists at all career levels in the fields of agriculture/food, environmental/resource, development, and regional economics. You can subscribe to get individual e-mails about each job or receive a weekly digest on Fridays. Tags on the website allow you to filter by job characteristics that may be of interest.​
​
When I'm not working you might find me...
OUTside Hiking OR SAILING
Views of Mt. Baker from the deck of the S/V Hawaiian Chieftain
Strait of Juan de Fuca
Canada/US border
