Staff Biographical Page: William Liefert

Briefly

Bill Liefert is a senior agricultural economist with the Europe/Africa/Middle East 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 calculating and interpreting producer support estimates (PSEs) for transition and developing economies, the development of markets for primary agricultural inputs in these economies, and how transition and economic development affect consumer demand and trade for foodstuffs. Before joining ERS, Bill was an assistant professor of economics at Kent State University. He also has worked as a consultant with 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.

Publications

ERS publications by this author

Journals and Books

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, and Johan Swinnen. Changes 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.