Connor Mulholland

Ph.D. Candidate in Economics · University of Oregon
Job Market Candidate, 2026–2027

My research examines how environmental risk, market incentives, and public policy shape agricultural land use, farm structure, and rural welfare. I combine economic theory, causal inference, geospatial data, and remote sensing to study agricultural consolidation, environmental quality, and sustainable production systems.

Fields: Environmental Economics; Agricultural and Applied Economics; Natural Resource Economics; Applied Microeconomics.

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Featured Research

Job Market Paper

Farmers Facing Risk: Evidence from Ethanol Plant Expansion in the Midwest

Job Market Paper · Solo-authored

A growing literature attributes declining farm numbers and increasing average farm size to crop-insurance expansion. I argue that these patterns may instead reflect underlying price risk and heterogeneous risk aversion. Using a representative-farmer model and plausibly exogenous local corn-price exposure generated by ethanol-plant expansion, I estimate how price risk affects farm turnover and agricultural land markets.

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Research Program

Risk, land use, and agricultural transition

My work connects three areas of agricultural and environmental economics.

Agricultural risk

Farm structure and land markets

I study how price volatility, insurance, and climate risk influence farm exit, consolidation, acreage, and agricultural land values.

Environmental quality

Land use and water resources

I estimate how agricultural production systems and environmental regulations affect nitrogen pollution, groundwater, and producer adaptation.

Farm transition

Stewardship before exit

I examine whether shortened planning horizons alter crop rotations and conservation incentives as producers approach land transfer.

Sustainable systems

Grazing adoption and rural welfare

I study how producer learning, social norms, and transitional technologies support economically viable pasture-based livestock systems.