
Alexis H. Villacis
Assistant Professor | Morrison School of Agribusiness
W. P. Carey School of Business | Arizona State University

I am an applied microeconomist studying the social welfare implications of agriculture, with a particular interest in food value chains, food security, behavioral economics, and climate change.
I obtained my Ph.D. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Virginia Tech. I also have a M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University, and a B.Sc. in Agribusiness Management from Zamorano University. Prior to joining ASU, I worked at UEES University and at the Department of Agriculture of Ecuador.
I’ve conducted research in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Ecuador, and have also been a fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and at Innsbruck University.
Some of my recent publications:
- Villacis, A., Bloem J., & Mishra, A. (2023). “Aspirations, Risk Preferences, and Investments in Agricultural Technologies,” Forthcoming at Food Policy. [Click here for a Pre-print]
- Villacis, A. (2023). “Inconsistent Choices Over Prospect Theory Lottery Games: Evidence from Field Experiments ,” Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2023.101989 [Click here for a Pre-print]
- Villacis, A., Badruddoza S., Mayorga, J., & Mishra, A. (2023). “The Role of Recall Periods When Predicting Food Insecurity: A Machine Learning Application in Nigeria,”. Global Food Security. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2023.100671. [Click here for a Pre-print]
- Villacis, A., Mayorga, J., & Mishra, A. (2022). “Experience-based Food Insecurity and Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria”. Food Policy. 113(2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2022.102286. [Click here for a Pre-print]
- Villacis, A., Alwang, J., Dominguez, J., & Barrera, V. (2022). “Prices, Specialty Varieties, and Post-Harvest Practices: Insights from Cacao Value Chains in Ecuador”. Agribusiness. 38(2), 426-458. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.21730. [Click here for a Pre-print]
Contact
Alexis H. Villacis
Morrison School of Agribusiness
W. P. Carey School of Business
Arizona State University
7231 E. Sonoran Arroyo Mall
Santan Hall, Office 235F
Mesa, AZ 85212
E-mail: Alexis.Villacis@asu.edu
Phone: (480)-727-1408