We continue to highlight our graduate students in Graduate Student Spotlight. Today we have Nadeeka Weerasekara, a fourth-year student in the Applied Economics Ph.D. program originally from Colombo, Sri Lanka.
What is your area of research?
My current research focuses on consumer behavior related to food purchases, food and agricultural marketing, modern retail transformation on food consumption patterns, and behavioral and experimental economics.
Why is your research important?
I think that my research is important because my research uses innovative methods to understand drivers of consumer behavior and the implications of changing behavior for global food systems. This information is particularly helpful for translation of research and design of more efficient food policy programs.
What inspired you to choose to study applied economics?
In Sri Lanka, I studied in the stream of science and unintentionally I got accepted to the Faculty of Agriculture at Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. I started specializing in Agribusiness Management. After graduating, I got an assistant lecturer position at the same university which is a very rare chance given to a student. That opportunity led me to continue my higher studies in the field of Applied Economics.
Why did you choose Oregon State University?
I eagerly wanted to study abroad, especially in the USA. I first applied to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for a M.Sc. program and then I got to know that Oregon State University is well known for the field of applied economics. Also, I was interested in the nature friendly location of the university.
Full Interview is here.