Krishna P. Paudel, Ph.D.

Research Background

Dr. Krishna P Paudel serves as professor and chair of the department. His major research contribution is in the areas of water quality and water quantity, which have been nationally recognized. For the last several years, he has been trying to understand the relationship between income and pollution using the environmental Kuznets curve framework. His research work has established the fact that all water pollutants are not created equally, and there is no way to standardize this relationship using a parametric model. To demonstrate this, he uses semiparametric and nonparametric models. Additionally, Dr. Paudel has worked on adoption issues related to best management practices (BMPs) aimed at reducing water pollution. He is also actively engaged in research on international development economics, focusing on land use, food security, poverty, and the adoption of agricultural technology.

He has taught undergraduate (natural resource economics, land appraisal, agricultural policy, agribusiness management, and futures and contracts) and graduate (natural resource economics, dynamic optimization, research methods, mathematical economics, applied econometrics, and international development economics) classes. He currently serves as the editor of the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management and the associate editor of the Natural Resource Modeling journal.

Department Chair's Welcome

It is my honor to serve as the chair of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Before joining the department on July 1, 2025, I worked for four and half years at the USDA Economic Research Service. Before that, I spent many years at Louisiana State University in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, where I served as an assistant professor, associate professor, professor, and Gilbert Durbin Endowed Professor.

Our department is well known for its productive research in trade, production, and several other areas that help improve the livelihoods of people in West Texas and beyond. We have a very strong undergraduate program in agricultural economics and agribusiness. We have several concentrations. The department is starting livestock and feedlot management concentration and agricultural law concentration in Fall 2026. Our Excellence in Agricultural Finance program is also now in full swing.

At the master's level, we have a strong MAB program, with 41 students currently enrolled. In our MS and PhD programs, students are doing innovative work that is helping transform ranching and agriculture in West Texas and beyond.

The department is also active in identifying key issues and hosting conferences, including the 52nd Annual Bankers Agricultural Credit Conference and Excellence in Agricultural Finance Seminar Series on crop insurance. These events have drawn strong participation, and we have had outstanding speakers address pressing problems in agricultural and rural credit and banking. The department also hosted two seminar speakers: Dr. Rudy Nyaga from Texas A&M University and Dr. Keith Fuglie, previously of the USDA Economic Research Service.

After several years of break, we resumed sending undergraduate students to Quiz Bowl competitions. Five undergraduate students participated in the quiz bowl competition in the Southern Agricultural Economics Association's annual meetings held in Louisville, Kentucky, from January 31 to February 3, 2026. One of those undergrad students, Cheyene Wedeking, won a first-place award in the quiz bowl competition. Several graduate students also presented papers and posters at this meeting, and one Ph.D. student, Reymark Alcantara, won third place in the SAEA student poster competition.

Many exciting things are happening in the department. We are adding a new faculty member in the department in the industrial organization area, effective September 1, 2026. Our faculty and graduate students are conducting cutting-edge research and publishing in reputable national and international journals.

We look forward to your visit to the department in the near future. If I can do anything, please feel free to reach out to me. It would be wonderful to catch up with you as a friend of the department or as an alum.

Thank you, and Guns Up! Wreck' Em!