Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development

Prof. Dr. Liesbeth Colen

Professional positions:

  • Since 2020: Professor of Nutrition and Agriculture, University of Göttingen
  • 2013-2020: Researcher at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Economics of Agriculture Unit (Sevilla, Spain)
  • 2007-2013: Doctoral researcher at LICOS, KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium)


Professional positions:

  • 2013: Phd in Economics, Essays on Globalization and Economic Development, KU Leuven, Belgium
  • 2007: Master of Bio-engineering Sciences – Agriculture and Resource Economics, KU Leuven, Belgium


Selected publications:

  • García-Iruretagoyena, L., Martinez-Perez, N., Colen, L., Baeta, M., Olalde, I., Torheim, L. E., & Arroyo-Izaga, M. (2025). Food Insecurity, Health, and Socioeconomic Status: Results from the University of the Basque Country, Spain. Nutrients, 17(8), 1314. DOI.
  • Van Campenhout, B., Abate, G. T., Colen, L., & Kramer, B. (2025). Signaling, screening, or sunk costs? Experimental evidence on how prices affect agricultural technology adoption in East Africa. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2369, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). DOI.
  • Englberger, L., Colen, L., & Rommel, J. (2025). Farmers’ attitudes toward economic experimentation. Q Open, 5(1), qoaf005. DOI.
  • Di Marcantonio, F., Barreiro-Hurle, J., Colen, L., Dessart, F., Menapace, L., & Ciaian, P. (2025). Much ado about nothing? An empirical analysis of consumer behaviour in the presence of ‘dual food quality’. Food Policy, 131, 102803. DOI.
  • Boss, R., Hoddinott, J., & Colen, L. (2025). Dietary and Nutrition Transitions in Indigenous Communities: The Role of Income and Market Access in Nagaland, India. RTG 2654 Sustainable Food Systems Discussion Papers 27, University of Göttingen. DOI.
  • Kenamu, E., & Colen, L. (2025). Estimating the short-term effects and seasonal dynamics of Malawi's 2015/16 drought on household food insecurity and child malnutrition. Sustainable Food Systems Discussion Papers 25, University of Göttingen. DOI.
  • Kenamu, E., & Colen, L. (2025). Estimating the effects and seasonal dynamics of Malawi's 2015/16 drought and humanitarian transfers on household food insecurity and child malnutrition. WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2025-36, UNU-WIDER. DOI.
  • Nes, K., Colen, L., & Ciaian, P. (2024). Market structure, power and the Unfair Trading Practices Directive in the EU food sector: A review of indicators. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review DOI.
  • Colen, L., Englberger, L., Rommel, J. (2024). Swedish farmers’ approval of nudges, Agribusiness (forthcoming). DOI.
  • Lefebvre, M ., Barreiro-Hurlé J., Blanchflower, C., Colen, L., Kuhfuss, L., Rommel, J., Sumrada, T., Thomas, F., Thoyer, S. (2021). Can Economic Experiments Contribute to a More Effective CAP? EuroChoices. DOI.
  • Adewopo, J. B., Solano-Hermosilla, G., Colen, L., & Micale, F. (2021). Using crowd-sourced data for real-time monitoring of food prices during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from a pilot project in northern Nigeria. Global Food Security, 29, 100523. DOI.
  • Mary, S., Shaw, K., Colen, L., & y Paloma, S. G. (2020). Does agricultural aid reduce child stunting?. World Development, 130, 104951. DOI.
  • Cockx, L, Colen, L, de Weerdt, J (2018) From Corn to Popcorn? Urbanization and food consumption in Sub-Sahara Africa: evidence from rural-urban migrants in Tanzania, World Development 110: 140-159. DOI.
  • Colen, L, Melo P, Abdul-Salam Y, Roberts D, Mary S, Gomez Y Paloma S (2018) Income elasticities for food, calories and nutrients across Africa: A meta-analysis, Food Policy 77, 116-132. DOI.
  • Colen, L, Gomez-Y-Paloma, S, Latacz-Lohman, U, Lefebvre, M, Préget, R, Thoyer, S (2016). Adding experimental approaches to the toolbox for agricultural policy evaluation: Insights from the European CAP, Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 64 (4): 667-694. DOI.
  • Colen, L, Persyn, D, Guariso, A (2016). Bilateral Investment Treaties and FDI: Does the Sector Matter? World Development 83: 193-206. DOI.
  • Colen, L, Maertens, M, Swinnen, J (2012). Private standards, trade and poverty: GlobalGAP and horticultural employment in Senegal. The World Economy 35 (8): 1073-1088. DOI.
  • Maertens, M, Colen, L, Swinnen, J (2011). Globalization and poverty in Senegal: A Worst Case Scenario? European Review of Agricultural Economics 38 (1): 31-54. DOI.
  • Di Marcantonio, F., Havari, E., Colen, L., & Ciaian, P. (2022). Do producer organizations improve trading practices and negotiation power for dairy farms? Evidence from selected EU countries. Agricultural Economics. DOI.

For a full list of publications, follow this link.
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