- Distinguished Professor for Sustainable Development
Biography
Jonathan Yoder is Distinguished Professor for Sustainable Development in the School of Economic Sciences and Affiliate Faculty in the School for Global Health at Washington State University. He is a natural resource economist specializing in law and economics, policy analysis, and applied econometrics, with recent research focused on water economics, wildfire management, and health and economic development. He has published extensively in leading economics and interdisciplinary journals and received numerous awards for research excellence. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from North Carolina State University, an M.S. in Applied Economics from Montana State University, and a B.A. in Biology and Journalism from Indiana University. He is a member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences, served as Director of the Washington Water Research Center from 2014 to 2026, was President of the Universities Council on Water Resources in 2020, served on the Board of the National Institutes for Water Resources from 2021 to 2026, and held several journal editorial positions.
Education
- PhD, Economics; Minor, Statistics 1999. North Carolina State University
- MS, Applied Economics, 1994. Montana State University
- BA Biology and journalism, 1990. Indiana University
Fields of Interest
- Environmental and natural resource economics
- Water law and economics
- Energy and the environment
- Wildfire economics
- Health and economic development
- Contract theory and public policy
- Applied econometrics
Selected Current/Recent Service Activities
- Washington State Academy of Sciences (elected 2017)
- Director, State of Washington Water Research Center (2014 – June 2026)
- President, Universities Council on Water Resources (2020 – 2021)
- National Institutes for Water Resources Board of Directors
- Associate Editor, Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education
- Editorial Board, Journal of Water Economics and Policy
Selected Publications
- Basu, R., J. Gifford, M. Brady, J. Cook, K. Rajagopalan, and J. Yoder (Oct. 11, 2025). “An Agent-Based Model for Assessing Agricultural Water Market Structure and Function”. In: Water Resources and Economics. DOI: 10.1016/j.wre.2025.100267.
- , , , , , , et al. (2025). Concurrent irrigation pauses can create streamflow pulses for fish during critical low-flow periods. Water Resources Research, 61, e2024WR039127. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR039127.
- Lankester, Felix, Shanthi Manian, & Jonathan Yoder. 2024. Pay for Performance in Rural Development Projects: Experimental Evidence from Mass Dog Vaccination against Rabies. World Bank Economic Review lhae038. Best Publication Award runner-up from the Africa Section of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association for 2024.
- Otiang, E.; Yoder, J.; Manian, S.; Campbell, Z. A.; Thumbi, S. M.; Njagi, L. W.; Nyaga, P. N. & Palmer, G. H. 2022. Vaccination of household chickens results in a shift in young children’s diet and improves child growth in rural Kenya. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119: e2122389119. PNAS Cozzarelli Prize Finalist for Class IV (Applied Biological, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences section), 2022; Honorable Mention for the Western Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding Published Research Award for 2022; Winner, 2022 Best Paper Award, Health Economics Section of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA).
- Malek, Keyvan, Jennifer Adam, Jonathan Yoder, Jennifer Givens, Claudio Stockle, Michael Brady, Tina Karimi, Kirti Rajagopalan, Mingliang Liu, Patrick Reed. 2021. Impacts of irrigation efficiency on water-dependent sectors are heavily controlled by region-specific institutions and infrastructures. Journal of Environmental Management.
- Bayham, Jude & Jonathan Yoder. 2020. Resource Allocation Under Fire. Land Economics 96(1):92-110.
- Yoder, Jonathan, Elizabeth Younce, Felix Lankester, & Guy Palmer. 2019. Healthcare demand in response to rabies elimination campaigns in Latin America. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 13(9): e0007630. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007630.
- Liu, Boying, C. Richard Shumway, & Jonathan Yoder. 2017. Life Cycle Economic Analysis of Biofuels: Accounting for Economic Substitution in Policy Assessment. Energy Economics 67 (September):146-158.
- Marsh, Thomas, Jonathan Yoder, Tesfaye Deboche, Terry McElwain, & Guy Palmer. 2016. Livestock vaccinations translate into increased human capital and school attendance by girls. Science Advances. Winner of the Western Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding Published Research of the Year Award for 2016.
- Yoder, Jonathan, Michael Brady, & Joseph Cook. 2016. Water markets and storage: Substitutes or complements for drought risk mitigation? Water Economics and Policy.
- Yoder, Jonathan, Adrienne Ohler, & Hayley Chouinard. 2014. “What floats your boat? Preference revelation from lotteries over complex goods.” Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. Winner of the Western Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding Published Research of the Year Award for 2014.
- Benefit-Cost Analysis of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Projects. 196.pp. Winner of the Bruce Gardner Memorial Prize for Applied Policy Analysis from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, 2016.
- Yoder, J. & Krista Gebert. 2012. An Econometric Model for ex ante prediction of wildfire suppression costs. Journal of Forest Economics.
- Galinato, G. & J. Yoder. 2010. An integrated tax-subsidy policy for carbon emission reduction. Resource and Energy Economics.
- Yoder, J. 2008. “Liability, regulation, and Endogenous Risk: Incidence and Severity of Escaped Prescribed Fires in the United States.” Journal of Law and Economics.
- Yoder, J., Hossain, I., Epplin, F., & Doye, D. 2008. “Contract duration and the division of labor in agricultural land leases,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
- Chouinard, H. & J. Yoder. 2007. “Repeated Auctions with the Right of First Refusal.”B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics.
- Yoder, J. 2004. “Playing with Fire: Endogenous Risk in Resource Management.”American Journal of Agricultural Economics.
- Yoder, J. 1999. “Wildlife on Private Land: Contracting over Wildlife-Inflicted Property Damage and Abatement.” Dissertation abstract in recognition of Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Outstanding Dissertation Award, 2000.