Wanlin Bai, a senior economics major at Duke Kunshan University, presented her research at the 100th Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Society, held March 23-25 at the University of Oxford.
The centennial conference brought together scholars, policymakers and early-career researchers from around the world. Over three days, participants took part in plenary sessions, paper presentations, symposia, poster sessions and panel discussions.
Topics ranged from climate change and agricultural adaptation to food systems, agricultural trade, development economics, policy and technological innovation, highlighting current research and debate in agricultural economics.
Participants at the 100th Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Society. Wanlin Bai is third from right in the front row.
In the session “Climate Extremes and Agricultural Adaptation,” Bai presented research on how extreme temperatures affect climate-smart agricultural innovation.
Using global patent data and meteorological observations, her study examined how exposure to unusually high and low temperatures influences innovation in climate-smart agriculture. The research found that cold exposure was associated with increased patent activity, while the effects of heat exposure differed across technological fields. It also showed that innovation responses can build over time and may not appear immediately.
The findings shed light on where and when climate-smart agricultural innovation is developing around the world and offer insights for policymakers working to support climate-adaptive agricultural technologies.
Jingbo Cui, associate professor of applied economics, mentored Bai throughout the project, guiding her through every stage of the work, from refining the research question to analyzing the results.
Beyond presenting her work, Bai also engaged with scholars and fellow researchers through conference sessions and discussions, receiving feedback on her methods and empirical analysis.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to represent DKU at this conference,” Bai said. “Meeting leading scholars from around the world at the University of Oxford gave me valuable insight, broadened my perspective and deepened my understanding of current work on climate change, agricultural innovation and policy.”
