Prior to joining the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School, Yang Yang spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics in the Univeristy of Saskatchewan College of Agriculture and Bioresources—the same college where she earned her doctoral degree. Under the supervision of Dr. Jill Hobbs (Ph.D.), Yang’s doctoral research focused mainly on areas of consumer behaviour, food economics, experimental economics and food policy. For her work, she was awarded the Richardson-Applebaum Scholarship for the best Ph.D. dissertation from the Food Distribution Research Society in Washington, D.C. (2018).

Since then, she has worked on projects with the Arctic Council Northern Foods, and one with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Drs. David Natcher and Hobbs, on public acceptance of novel food technologies. Yang has previously taught or was a teaching assistant for undergraduate courses including resource economics and policy, agriculture finance and farm appraisal, intermediate statistics and decision making, and industrial organization of agricultural markets.

Yang also has master’s degrees in Finance and Economics from the Umeå University (2010) and Dalarna University (2009) in Sweden, and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, China (2008).

Download Yang Yang's abridged CV. 

Designations

• PhD in Agricultural Economics, University of Saskatchewan
• M.Sc., Finance, Umeå University (Sweden)
• M.Sc., Economics, Dalarna University (Sweden)
• B.Sc., Economics, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics (China)

Yang Yang is currently accepting applications from new PhD and MPP students for September 2024 in the following research areas: Food policy, Experimental economics, Consumer behaviour, Farmer decision-making, and Science communication.

Recent Awards and Honors

• Richardson-Applebaum Scholarship Award for the Best Ph.D. Dissertation, Food Distribution Research Society, Washington, D.C., U.S (2018)

Peer-Reviewed Papers

• Yang, Y., J.E. Hobbs and D. Natcher. 2020. “Assessing Consumer Willingness to Pay for Arctic Food Products.” Food Policy, forthcoming.
• Yang, Y., and J.E. Hobbs. 2020. “The Power of Stories: Narratives and Information Framing Effects in Science Communication.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, forthcoming. Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajae.12078
• Yang, Y., and J.E. Hobbs. 2020. “Supporters or Opponents: Will Cultural Values Shape Consumer Acceptance of Gene Editing?” Journal of Food Products Marketing, forthcoming. Available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10454446.2020.1715316
• Yang, Y., and J.E. Hobbs. 2019. “How Do Cultural Worldviews Shape Food Technology Perceptions? Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment.” Journal of Agricultural Economics, forthcoming. Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1477-9552.12364

Working Papers

• Yang, Y., and J.E. Hobbs. “Food Values and Heterogeneous Consumer Responses to Nanotechnology.” Revise and resubmit at Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics.
• “Embracing or Neophobic: Heterogeneous Consumer Responses to Arctic Foods” (with David Natcher and Jill E. Hobbs).
• “Do Consumers Care about Who Certify the Arctic Foods?” (with David Natcher and Jill E. Hobbs).

Peer-Reviewed Conference Articles

• Yang, Y., and J.E. Hobbs. 2018. “Information Framing Effects in Biotechnology Communication – A
  Comparison between Logical-scientific and Narrative Information.” Proceedings of the 30th International
  Conference of Agricultural Economists.

Technical Reports

• Yang, Y., and J.E. Hobbs. 2018. “The Effect of Information Framing on Consumer Acceptance of Novel Food Technologies.” Report prepared for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
• Yang, Y., and J.E. Hobbs. 2018. “The Effect of Human Values on Consumer Acceptance of Novel Food
  Technologies.” Report prepared for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.