William Liefert
ERS Publications by this Author
Journal Publications by this Author
Agricultural Economist
202-694-5156
Email:
wliefert@ers.usda.gov
Briefly:Bill Liefert is a senior agricultural economist with the
International Demand and Trade Branch, Market and Trade Economics
Division. He specializes in trade issues and the macroeconomic
linkages to agriculture, with a special focus on the transition
economies of the former Soviet bloc. Current research interests
include agricultural export restrictions, price shocks, and the
emergence of the former Soviet Union region as a major grain
exporter. Before joining ERS, Bill was an assistant professor of
economics at Kent State University. He also has worked as a
consultant with the World Bank and the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development in Paris.
Education:Bill received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the
University of Michigan. He also holds a B.A. in economics and
history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Professional Affiliations:Bill is a member of the American Economic Association, American
Agricultural Economics Association, and the Assocation for
Comparative Economic Studies.
Selected Publications:Journals and Book Chapters
Liefert, William, and Olga Liefert. "Russian Agriculture During
Transition: Performance, Global Impact, and Outlook." Applied
Economic Perspectives and Policy 34, 1:37-75 (Spring
2012).
Liefert, William, Paul Westcott, and John Wainio. "Alternative
Policies to Agricultural Export Bans That are Less
Market-Distorting." American Journal of Agricultural
Economics 94, 2:435-441 (January 2012).
Baquedano, Felix, William Liefert, and Shahla Shapouri. "World
Market Integration for Export and Food Crops in Developing
Countries: A Case Study for Mali and Nicaragua." Agricultural
Economics 42, 5:619-630 (September 2011).
Liefert, William. "Decomposing Changes in Agricultural Producer
Prices." Journal of Agricultural Economics 62, 1:119-136
(February 2011).
Liefert, William, Eugenia Serova, and Olga Liefert. "The Growing
Importance of the Former USSR Countries in World Agricultural
Markets." Agricultural Economics 41, s1:65-71 (November
2010).
Liefert, William, Olga Liefert, and Mathew Shane. "Russia's
Agricultural Imports: Will the High Growth of the 2000s Continue?"
EuroChoices 9, 3:43-49, 2010.
Liefert, William, Olga Liefert, and Eugenia Serova. "Russia's
Transition to Major Player in World Agricultural Markets."
Choices 24, 2:47-51 (2nd Quarter 2009).
Liefert, William, and Mathew Shane. "The World Economic Crisis
and U.S. Agriculture: From Boom to Gloom?" Choices 24,
1:22-26, 1st Quarter 2009.
Liefert, William. "Decomposing Changes in Agricultural Price
Gaps: An Application to Russia." Agricultural Economics
40, 1:15-28, January 2009.
Liefert, William and Olga Liefert. "The Russian Federation." In
Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Europes Transition
Economies, pp. 135-174, edited by Kym Anderson and Johan
Swinnen. Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2008.
Liefert, William. "Measuring the Success of Agricultural
Transition: An Application to Russia." In Agricultural
Economics and Transition: What was Expected, What We Observed, the
Lessons Learned, pp. 44-54, edited by Csaba Csaki and Csaba
Forgacs. Halle, Germany: IAMO, 2008.
Liefert, William. "The Allocative Efficiency of Input Use in
Russian Corporate Farms." In Russia's Agriculture in
Transition: Factor Markets and Constraints on Growth, pp.
305-326, edited by Zvi Lerman. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books,
2008.
Liefert, William. "Decomposing Changes in Agricultural Producer
Prices." International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium,
Working Paper 07-01, 2007.
Liefert, William. "Decomposing Changes in Agricultural Price
Gaps." International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium,
Working Paper 05-2, 2005.
Liefert, William, Zvi Lerman, Bruce Gardner, and Eugenia Serova.
"Agricultural Labor in Russia: Efficiency and Profitability."
Review of Agricultural Economics 27, 3:412-417, Fall
2005.
Liefert, William. "The Allocative Efficiency of Material Input
Use in Russian Agriculture." Comparative Economic Studies
47, 2:214-223, March 2005.
Osborne, Stefan, and William Liefert. "Price and Exchange Rate
Transmission in Russian Meat Markets." Comparative Economic
Studies 46, 1:221-244, June 2004.
Liefert, William, Stefan Osborne, Olga Liefert, and Michael
Trueblood. "Can Russia be Competitive in Agriculture?"
EuroChoices 2, 3:18-23, 2003.
Liefert, William, Bruce Gardner, and Eugenia Serova. "Allocative
Efficiency in Russian Agriculture: The Case of Fertilizer and
Grain." American Journal of Agricultural Economics 85,
5:1228-1233, November 2003.
Liefert, William. "Comparative (Dis?)Advantage in Russian
Agriculture." American Journal of Agricultural Economics
84, 3:762-767, August 2002.
Liefert, William. "Agricultural Reform: Major Commodity
Restructuring but Little Institutional Change." Russia's
Uncertain Economic Future, edited by John Hardt, pp. 253-281.
Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, December 2001.
Liefert, William. Book review of "Russia's Agro-food Sector:
Towards Truly Functioning Markets," edited by Peter Wehrheim, Klaus
Frohberg, Eugenia Serova, and Joachim von Braun (Boston: Kluwer,
2000). European Review of Agricultural Economics 27,
4:534-536, December 2000.
Shane, Mathew, and William Liefert. "The International Financial
Crisis: Macroeconomic Linkages to Agriculture." American
Journal of Agricultural Economics 82, 3:682-687, August
2000.
Liefert, William. "Comparative Advantage and Government Budget
Effects: An Application to the Grain Trade of the Former USSR."
American Journal of Agricultural Economics 79, 3:715-725,
August 1997.
Liefert, William. "Russian Federation." The State of Food
and Agriculture 1997, pp. 207-217. Rome: Food and Agriculture
Organization, 1997.
Liefert, William, David Sedik, Robert Koopman, Eugenia Serova,
and Olga Meliukhina. "Producer Subsidy Equivalents for Russian
Agriculture: Estimation and Interpretation." American Journal
of Agricultural Economics 78, 3:792-798, August 1996.
Sedik, David, William Liefert, and Christian Foster. "Economic
Reforms and Agriculture in the Russian Federation, 1992-95."
Communist Economies and Economic Transformation 8,
2:133-148, 1996.
Liefert, William. "Russian Food Security is Not Threatened."
The Food Systems Policy Roundtable Journal, 1:38-40,
May-June 1996.
Liefert, William. "Grain Sector Reform and Food Security in the
Countries of the Former USSR." Cereal Sector Reform in the
Former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe, edited by
Lawrence Smith and Neil Spooner, pp. 54-68. Wallingford, England:
CAB International, 1996.
Sedik, David, and William Liefert. "Effektivnost' agrarnogo
sektora rossii (The Efficiency of Russia's Agricultural Sector)."
Sovershenstvovanie upravleniia otrasliami APK (Improving
Management of the Branches of the Agro-industrial Complex), pp.
72-74. Moscow: Ioshkar-Ola, 1996.
Liefert, William. "The Farm Input 'Crisis' in the Former Soviet
Union: What to Do?" Choices, Fourth Quarter, 1995, pp.
41-42.
Liefert, William, David Sedik, and Christian Foster. "Progress
in Russian Agricultural Reform." Transition 1, 16:50-52,
September, 1995.
Liefert, William. "Economic Reform and Comparative Advantage in
Agriculture in the Newly Independent States." American Journal
of Agricultural Economics 76, 3:636-640, August 1994.
Liefert, William. Chapters on Newly Independent States of Former
Soviet Union. Agricultural Policies, Markets, and Trade in the
Central and Eastern European Countries, the Newly Independent
States, Mongolia and China, pp. 143-179. Centre for
Cooperation with the Economies in Transition, OECD, 1994.
Liefert, William, Robert Koopman, and Edward Cook. "Agricultural
Reform in the Former USSR." Comparative Economic Studies
35, 4:49-68, Winter 1993.
Liefert, William. "Distribution Problems in the Food Economy."
The Former Soviet Union in Transition, edited by John
Hardt, Vol. 2, pp. 491-505. Joint Economic Committee, U.S.
Congress, May 1993.
Liefert, William. "The Food Problem in the Republics of the
Former USSR." The Farmer Threat: The Political Economy of
Agrarian Reform in Post-Soviet Russia, edited by Don van Atta,
pp. 25-42. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1993.
Liefert, William. "Alcune considerazioni sulla politica
cerealicola sovietica" (English title when submitted: "Soviet
Comparative Disadvantage in Grain, Grain Imports, and Budget
Effects"). Rivista di Politica Agraria 10, 3:45-52,
September 1992.
Liefert, William. Book review of "Communist Agriculture: Farming
in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe," edited by Karl-Eugen
Waedekin (London: Routledge, 1990). Journal of Comparative
Economics 16, 2:394-397, June 1992.
Liefert, William. "Food Shortages in the Former USSR Mainly the
Result of Monetary Imbalances." Choices, 2nd Quarter,
1992, pp. 14-16.
Liefert, William. "Growing Soviet Food Shortages: A Result of
Economy-Wide Monetary Imbalance." Occasional Paper No. 2, Geonomics
Institute, October 1991.
Liefert, William. "Economic Rent and Estimation of Soviet GNP
Growth." Review of Income and Wealth 37, 2:159-176, June
1991.
Liefert, William. "The Soviet Gain from Trade with the West in
Fuel, Grain, and Machinery." Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv
126, 1:78-96, 1990.
Liefert, William. "The Full Cost of Soviet Oil and Natural Gas
Production." Comparative Economic Studies 30, 2:1-20,
Summer 1988.
Selected ERS Reports and Articles
Liefert, William, Olga Liefert, Gary Vocke, and Edward Allen. "
Former Soviet Union Region to Play Larger Role in Meeting World
Wheat Needs." Amber Waves 8, 2:12-19 (June, 2010),
ERS, USDA.
Liefert, William, and Suresh Persaud. The Transmission of Exchange Rate Changes to
Agricultural Prices. Economic Research Report No. 76, ERS,
USDA, 2009.
Liefert, William, Olga Liefert, and Mathew Shane. Russia's Growing Agricultural Imports: Causes and
Outlook. International Agriculture and Trade Situation and
Outlook Report WRS-09-04, ERS, USDA, May 2009.
Shane, Mathew, William Liefert, Mitch Morehart, May Peters, John
Dillard, David Torgerson, and William Edmondson. The 2008/2009 World Economic Crisis: What it Means
for U.S. Agriculture. International Agriculture and Trade
Situation and Outlook Report WRS-09-02, ERS, USDA, March 2009.
Shane, Mathew, and William Liefert. "
Weaker Dollar Strengthens U.S. Agriculture." Amber
Waves 5, 1:16-21 ERS, USDA, February 2007.
Liefert, William, Olga Liefert, Ralph Seeley, and Edward Allen.
Black Sea Grain Exports: Will They be Moderate or Large?
International Agriculture and Trade Situation and Outlook Report
WRS04-05-02, ERS, USDA, 2004.
Liefert, William.
"Food Security in Russia: Economic Growth and Rising Incomes are
Reducing Insecurity". Food Security Assessment, ERS, USDA, May
2004, pp. 35-43.
Liefert, William, Stefan Osborne, Olga Liefert, and Michael
Trueblood."
Could the NIS Region Become a Major Grain Exporter"?
Agricultural Outlook, ERS, USDA, May 2002, pp. 22-26.
Liefert, William, and Johan Swinnen. C
hanges in Agricultural Markets in Transition Economies.
Agricultural Economic Report No. 806, ERS, USDA, February 2002.
Liefert, William, and Mathew Shane. "The Macroeconomic Linkages
to Agriculture."
International Financial Crises and Agriculture, pp. 8-14.
International Agriculture and Trade Situation and Outlook Report
WRS-99-3, ERS, USDA, March 2000.
Liefert, William. "Russia."
International Financial Crises and Agriculture, pp. 54-57.
International Agriculture and Trade Situation and Outlook Report
WRS-99-3, ERS, USDA, March 2000.
Liefert, William, and Olga Liefert. "
Russia's Economic Crisis: Effects on Agriculture."
Agricultural Outlook, pp. 15-18. ERS, USDA, June-July
1999.
Liefert, William. "Technical Barriers to Trade: Highlights of
ERS Workshop," October 8-9, 1997. ERS Staff Paper No. 9803, ERS,
USDA, July 1998.