AEAB Master's Student Hakan Unveren Successfully Defends Thesis

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From left, H.L. Goodwin, Alvaro Durand-Morat, Andrew McKenzie, Hakan Unveren, and Jeff Luckstead.

Hakan Unveren, a graduate student in agricultural economics and agribusiness in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences, successfully defended his thesis titled "Comprehensive Poultry Supply Chain Model with Vertical and Horizontal Linkages: Implication of Domestic and International Shocks." 

Under the guidance of his advisor, associate professor Jeff Luckstead, Unveren investigated the structure of the U.S. broiler supply chain and simulated the model for the broiler industry. This broiler supply-chain model is calibrated to U.S. data averaged over the period from 2012 to 2017.

Unveren set forth, first, to analyze the impacts of a shock to the corn and soymeal prices due to tariffs imposed by China on U.S. corn and soybeans; and, second, to analyze the impacts of productivity increase in the production. This is important because chickens are the most significant protein source in the United States. Americans consume more chicken per capita than any other country, so the broiler industry is a key segment of U.S. agriculture. 

Unveren is originally from Turkey and moved to Fayetteville in 2017 to study agricultural economics. Unveren hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in agricultural economics in the United States or the United Kingdom.