Faculty Member Information

<<Back to Faculty Listing

David J. Leatham Professor, Associate Head for Graduate Programs PhD (Agricultural Economics), Purdue University MS (Agricultural Economics), Brigham Young University BS (Agricultural Economics), Brigham Young University Research Interests: Agricultural Finance, Financial Management Office Address: 301A Blocker 2124 TAMU College Station, TX 77843-2124 Contact Information: (979) 845-5806 (Office) (979) 862-1563 (Fax) Email Address: d-leatham@tamu.edu Personal Website: http://agecon2.tamu.edu/people/faculty/leatham-david/

About Dr. Leatham:
Dr. Leatham received his B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural Ecnomics from Brigham Young University. His Ph.D. is in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University.

Dr. Leatham's primary research focus is on improving financial decision making for farmers and ranchers. Farmers and ranchers must choose the optimal mix of assets (investment decisions), and the optimal mix of short-term credit, long-term credit and owner’s equity to finance assets (capital structure decisions). The outcome of investment and capital structure decisions is dependent on future events; thus, time and uncertainty must be considered. Much of the work he does is in a risk/return framework where optimal decisions depend on an individual's risk/return preference.

His secondary focus is on improving the ability of financial intermediaries to provide credit to farmer’s and ranchers (agricultural credit). Specifically, Dr. Leatham's work in this area centers on 1) designing and evaluating financial derivatives that can be used by agricultural lenders to manage interest rate risk, 2) improving credit assessment models, and 3) assessing the impact of deregulation and structural changes on agricultural lender’s ability and willingness to provide credit to agricultural firms. Funding support has been received from the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Agriculture and Life Science Organized Research Development funds, American Bankers Association, University Minigrant Program, Farm Credit Banks of Texas, Farm Credit Council, and National Crop Insurance Services.

Selected Publications:
“Does Consumer Debt Cause Economic Recession? Evidence Using Directed Acyclic Graphs.” Applied Economics Letters, 13(2006): 401-407.

“Effects of Federal Risk Management Programs on Optimal Acreage Allocation and Nitrogen Use in a Texas Cotton-Sorghum System.” Journal of Agricultural & Applied Economics, 37(Number 3, December 2005): 685-99.

"Future Trading Activity and Commodity Spot Price Volatility." Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, 32 (No. 1 & 2, January/March 2005), 0306-686X.

"Price and Volatility Transmission in International Wheat Futures Markets." Annals of Economics and Finance, 4(2003):37-50.

>"Stock Market Reaction to Food Recalls: A GARCH Application."Applied Economic Letters, 9(2002):979-87.

"External Equity in Agriculture: Risk Sharing and Incentives in a Principal-Agent Relationship." Agricultural Finance Review, 62(No. 1, Spring 2002):13-24.

"Agricultural Liberalization Policy and Commodity Price Volatility: A GARCH Application."Applied Economics Letters, 8(2001):593-98.

"Currency Convertibility and Linkage between Chinese Official and Swap Market Exchange Rates." Contemporary Economic Policy, 19(No. 3,2001):347-59. (T.K. Ann Outstanding Paper Award in International Trade)

"Asset Storability and Price Discovery of Commodity Futures Markets: A New Look." Journal of Futures Markets, 21(No. 3, 2001):279-300.

"Impact of Interest Rate Swaps on Corporate Capital Structure: Empirical Evidence." Applied Financial Economics, 11(2001):75-81.