Research

​My research seeks to better understand trends and determinants of US farmland market, conservation and technology adoption by row and specialty crop farmers, as well as the global trade implications of Chinese agriculture.

Publications

Working Papers

Research Reports & Policy Briefs

My co-authors


Below are some of my signature publications by Areas & Topics:

1. Farmland Markets                     2. Water Quality and Environmental (Dis)Amenities         3. International Trade
4. Machine Learning & AI             5. Machine Learning & AI                                         6. Cellphone and Mobile Data



Farmland Markets

Qu, Xiaorui and Lu, Qinan and Li, Minghao and Zhang, Wendong, 2025. Broadband Internet Speed Upgrades and the Farmland Market: A Shift-Share Instrumental Variable Approach. Forthcoming at American Journal of Agricultural Economics (published version)

Zhang, Wendong, Sergio H. Lence, and Todd Kuethe, November 2020. Are Expert Opinions Accurate? Panel Data Evidence from Iowa Land Value Survey. Land Economics, 97(4): 875-892 (published version)

Zhang, Wendong, and Cynthia J. Nickerson. 2015. The Housing Market Bust and Farmland Values: Identifying the Changing Influence of Proximity to Urban Centers. Land Economics, 91(4): 605-626. Lead Article (published version)

Lu, Qinan, Nieyan Cheng, Wendong Zhang, and Pengfei Liu. 2023. Disamenity or Premium: Do Electricity Transmission Lines Affect Farmland Values and Housing Prices Differently?​ Journal of Housing Economics (Corresponding Author) (published version)

Mykel R. Taylor, Wendong Zhang, and Festus Attah. 2023. "Foreign Interests in U.S. Agricultural Lands: The Missing Conversations about Leasing." Choices (CARD policy brief) (published version)



Water Quality and Environmental (Dis)Amenities

Zhang, Wendong, and Brent Sohngen. April 2018. Do US Anglers Care About Harmful Algal Blooms? A Choice Experiment of Lake Erie Recreational Anglers. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 100(3): 868-888 (published version)

C. Liao,J. Kao-Kniffin,M. Reid, W. Zhang, P. Tshabalala,E. Andrus,Z. Butler-Jones,J. LaPoint,S. Zhou,R. Rafols,S. Shin,M. Ichihara,A. Pereira,N. Butler,Y. Tu, & S.R. McCouch,  Rice farming for climate change adaptation in the Northeastern United States, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (49) e2402181122 (2025).

Mei, Yingdan, Jixiang Qiu., Wendong Zhang, Pengfei Liu, and Sookti Chaudhary. 2025. “Do Carbon Markets Promote Environmental Justice? Evidence from China’s Certified Emission Reduction Program.” Forthcoming at Nature Communications

Cheng, Nieyan, Tang Chuan, Pengfei Liu, Minghao Li, and Wendong Zhang. 2024. Pipeline Incidents and Property Values. Forthcoming at Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (published version) 

Shr, Jimmy, and Wendong Zhang. 2024. Omitted Downstream Attributes and the Benefits of Nutrient Reductions: Implications for Choice Experiments. Forthcoming at Ecological Economics

Mei, Yingdan, Li Gao, Wendong Zhang, and Feng-an Yang. 2021. Will Homeowners Benefit When Coal-fired Power Plants Switch to Natural Gas? Evidence from Beijing, China. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 110:102566. (published version)

Howard, Gregory, Wendong Zhang, Adriana Valcu-Lisman, and Philip Gassman. 2023. Evaluating the Tradeoff between Cost-Effectiveness and Participation in Agricultural Conservation Programs, American Journal of Agricultural Economics (Corresponding Author) (published version)

Zhang, Wendong and Wan, Xibo and Ji, Yongjie and Fan, Wenran. 2024. Uncovering Disparities in Water-Based Outdoor Recreation using Cell Phone Mobility Data. forthcoming at Environmental Research Letters. (published version)

Zhang, Wendong, Douglas H. Wrenn, and Elena G. Irwin. 2016. Spatial Heterogeneity, Accessibility and Zoning: An Empirical Investigation of Leapfrog Development. Journal of Economic Geography, 17(3): 547-570 (published version)

Wan, Xibo, Yongwang Ren, Ruohao Zhang, Jiameng Zheng, Wendong Zhang. 2025. "Quantifying Recreational Benefits from Fish Consumption Advisories: Insights from Cellphone Mobility Data." forthcoming at Land Economics. (published version)




International Trade

He, Xi, Edward J. Balistreri, Gyu Hyun Kim, and Wendong Zhang. 2022. A General Equilibrium Assessment of the Labor Productivity Impacts of COVID-19 on China's Regional Economies. Journal of Productivity Analysis 58: 129-150 (Corresponding Author) (published version)
​
Ai, Jianwei, Minghao Li, Terry Zhang, and Wendong Zhang. 2025. "the Impacts of the 2025 Trade Wars on Global Agricultural Markets and US Agricultural Trade" Forthcoming at International Food and Agribusiness Management Review (IFAMR) (published version)

Li, Minghao, Edward Balistreri, and Wendong Zhang, 2020, The U.S.-China Trade War: Tariff Data and General Equilibrium Analysis, Journal of Asian Economics, Lead Article (published version)



Chinese Agriculture

Shao, Yongtong, Minghao Li, Dermot Hayes, Wendong Zhang, Tao Xiong, and Wei Xie. 2020, China’s Missing Pigs: Correcting China’s Hog Inventory Data Using a Machine Learning Approach, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 103(3):1082-1098 (Corresponding Author) (published version)

Xiong, Tao, Wendong Zhang, and Chen-Ti Chen. August 2021. A Fortune from Misfortune: Evidence from Hog Firms' Stock Price Responses to China's African Swine Fever. Food Policy, 105: 102150 (published version)

Liu, Yangxuan, and Wendong Zhang. 2022. "Nurturing International Graduate Students for a More Diversified and Inclusive Extension Workforce", Applied Economics Teaching Resources. (published version) 

​Shao, Yongtong, Minghao Li, Dermot Hayes, Wendong Zhang, Tao Xiong, and Wei Xie. 2020, China’s Missing Pigs: Correcting China’s Hog Inventory Data Using a Machine Learning Approach, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 103(3):1082-1098 (Corresponding Author) (published version)



Machine Learning & AI

Shao, Yongtong, Minghao Li, Dermot Hayes, Wendong Zhang, Tao Xiong, and Wei Xie. 2020, China’s Missing Pigs: Correcting China’s Hog Inventory Data Using a Machine Learning Approach, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 103(3):1082-1098 (Corresponding Author) (published version)

​He, Xinyue, Lee Schulz, Tao Xiong, Dermot Hayes, Wendong Zhang, 2026. "Tracking U.S. Hog and Pig Inventory in Real-time using Nowcasting" forthcoming at Food Policy (published version)




Cellphone and Mobile Data

Zhang, Wendong and Wan, Xibo and Ji, Yongjie and Fan, Wenran. 2024. Uncovering Disparities in Water-Based Outdoor Recreation using Cell Phone Mobility Data. forthcoming at Environmental Research Letters. (published version)

​Wan, Xibo, Yongwang Ren, Ruohao Zhang, Jiameng Zheng, Wendong Zhang. 2025. "Quantifying Recreational Benefits from Fish Consumption Advisories: Insights from Cellphone Mobility Data." forthcoming at Land Economics. (published version)