Luckstead Earns USDA Grant to Study Immigration

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Assistant professor of agricultural economics Jeff Luckstead

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jeff Luckstead, a researcher at the University of Arkansas, will analyze the relationship between U.S. immigration policies and the nation’s agricultural labor markets. His research is funded by a $400,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Luckstead is an assistant professor in the department of agricultural economics and agribusiness in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

“I am very excited about receiving this grant,” said Luckstead. “The topic is very timely and could have a real impact on the immigration debate.”

The USDA-NIFA review panel placed Luckstead’s proposal in the “high priority” category, and pointed out U.S. immigration policies directly impact agricultural production and profitability. The panel also said the research is important to the future of agriculture and can be used to analyze the impacts of various U.S. immigration policies.

The grant is part of the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative in the Agricultural Economics and Rural Communities Markets and Trade program.

Luckstead, from Walla Walla, Wash., is in his first year teaching at the U of A. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics in 2006 and his master’s degree in applied economics in 2008, both from the University of Idaho. He earned his doctorate in economics from Washington State University in 2013.

His research includes theoretical and applied agricultural policy analysis in international trade and industrial organization. He also studies strategic trade theory and the new empirical industrial organizational methods.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.