Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Elton R. Smith Endowment

For those interested in the history and economics of animal disease prevention and control, there can be no better book to read than:

Arresting Contagion: Science, Policy, and Conflicts over Animal Disease Control (2015) by A.L. Olmstead and P.W. Rhode.

Infectious Animal Disease and Animal Health Economics is a large and very active area of research. Several others in AFRE are also active in the area. The issues that coauthors and I have addressed have received less attention in the area. One theme is the relationships between infectious disease, the feeder animal trade and scale economies.

• Hennessy, D.A., Jutta Roosen, and Helen H. Jensen. “Infectious Disease, Productivity, and Scale in Open and Closed Animal Production Systems.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 87(November, 2005):900-917. Link

Other papers have considered the distinction between efforts to prevent a disease and to cure that disease, both when infection externalities are not present, and when they are present.

• Hennessy, D.A. “Behavioral Incentives, Equilibrium Endemic Disease, and Health Management Policy for Farmed Animals.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 89(August, 2007):698-711. Link
• Hennessy, D.A. “Biosecurity and Spread of an Infectious Disease.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 89(December, 2007):1226-1231. Link
• Hennessy, D.A. “Prevention and Cure Efforts Both Substitute and Complement.” Health Economics, 17(April, 2008):503-511. Link
• Hennessy, D.A. “Biosecurity Incentives, Network Effects, and Entry of a Rapidly Spreading Pest.” Ecological Economics, 68(December, 2008):230-239. Link
• Wang, Tong and D.A. Hennessy. “Strategic Interactions Among Private and Public Efforts when Preventing and Stamping Out a Highly Infectious Animal Disease.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 97(2, 2015):435-451. Link

Among the points being made in the papers are that bio-security actions to protect resources typically need to be viewed in their totality, including public actions and the dispersed set of private actions; that interactions among these bio-security actions can differ greatly according to their purpose; and that failure to recognize these differences can undermine public and private sector endeavors to protect resources.

Information is another theme in some of the works, where it seems reasonable to assume that private businesses have more information about their disease status than do public animal health control agencies.

• Wang, Tong and D.A. Hennessy. “Modeling Interdependent Participation Incentives: Dynamics of a Voluntary Livestock Disease Control Program.” European Review of Agricultural Economics, 41(4, 2014):681-706. Link
• Hennessy, D.A., and Christopher A. Wolf. “Asymmetric Information, Externalities, and Incentives in Animal Disease Prevention and Control.” Journal of Agricultural Economics. Link
• Saak, A.E., and D.A. Hennessy. “A Model of Reporting and Controlling Outbreaks by Public Health Agencies.” Economic Theory (2017). Link

A separate theme has been interactions between structural change in the animal protein production and animal health inputs, including bio-security inputs and antibiotics.

• Hennessy, D.A., and Tong Wang. “Animal Disease and the Industrialization of Agriculture.” In Health and Animal Agriculture in Developing Countries, D. Zilberman, J. Otte, D. Roland-Holst and D. Pfeiffer eds. Springer, New York, on behalf of the Food and Agricultural Organization, United Nations, 2012, Chapter 5, pp. 77-99. Link
• Hennessy, D.A., Jing Zhang, and Na Bai. “Structure of Protein Production, Animal Health Inputs, Endogenous Risk, Public Infrastructure and Technology Adoption.” Food Policy (2017). Link

A related theme has been the U.S. market for veterinarian services to large animals. This market has had to adapt to deep structural change in the animal protein sector, leading to changes in the nature of demand for services and how they are delivered.

• Wang, Tong, D.A. Hennessy, and Annette M. O’Connor. “Where are the Veterinarian Shortage Areas Anyway?” Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 104(May, 2012):198-206. Link
• Wang, Tong, D.A. Hennessy, and S.C. Park. “Demand Side Change, Rurality and Gender in the United States Veterinarian Market, 1990-2010.” Agribusiness, 32(2, 2016):236-253. Link

Other topics have included funding mechanisms for public animal health programs,

• Hennessy, D.A. “Conceptual Models Underlying Economic Analysis of Animal Health and Welfare with the Inclusion of Three Components: People, Products and Resources.” OIE Scientific and Technical Review 36(1, 2017):77-83. Link

status of public animal health activities,

• Hennessy, D.A. “Economic Aspects of Agricultural and Food Biosecurity.” Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science (now named Health Security, 6(March, 2008):66-77. Link
• Wei, Xinjie, Wanlong Lin, and D.A. Hennessy. “Biosecurity and Disease Management in China’s Animal Agriculture Sector.” Food Policy, 54(July, 2015):52-64. Link

and market outcomes when a disease occurs.

• Hennessy, D.A. “Hog Markets and the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus.” Agricultural Policy Review, Spring 2014. Link

Other activities have included national and international interactions to address animal health and bio-security issues. 

National and International Panels

INRA, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Meta Program on Multi-scale modelling, from animal Intra-Host to Metapopulation (MIHMES). Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) member, 2015-present. Visited Nantes during June 13-16, 2017.

INRA, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Meta Program on Sustainable Management in Animal Health (GISA). Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) member, 2013-present. Visited Paris during July 10-11, 2013, and June 19-20, 2017.

Hennessy, D.A. “Biosecurity Externalities and Indemnities for Infectious Animal Diseases.” Proceedings of OECD-Cooperative Research Program Conference Livestock Disease Policies: Building Bridges between Animal Sciences and Economics, Paris, France, 3-4 June, 2013, pp. 139-150, pp. 139-149, http://www.oecd.org/tad/agricultural-policies/livestock-diseases-2013.htm.

National Academies of Sciences, National Research Council Board on Agric. & Nat’l Resources, Committee for the Analysis of the Requirements and Alternatives for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory Capabilities, 2012. See report

McElwain, T., Connell, N., Hennessy, D.A., King, L.A., Le Duc, J., MacLachlan, N.J., Marsh, B., Salman, M., Torres, A., and C. Wolf. 2012. “Meeting Critical Laboratory Needs for Animal Agriculture: Examination of Three Options” Committee on an Analysis of the Requirements and Alternatives for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory Capabilities; Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources; Board on Life Sciences; Division on Earth and Life Studies; National Research Council, Washington, DC, June, 166 pages. https://download.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13454

Invited Presentations (International)

Hennessy, D.A. “Broadening the Role and Relevance of Economics in Farmed Animal Health Management.” Keynote speaker presentation at International Congress on Modeling in Animal Health, organized by INRA, France, June 14-16, 2017, Nantes, France.

Hennessy, D.A. “Economic Incentives in the Management of Infectious Animal Diseases.” Presentation made to China Animal Health & Epidemiology Center Workshop, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, August 24-27, 2016.

Hennessy, D.A. “Culling and Indemnities in Management of Infectious Animal Disease.” Presentation made to China Animal Health & Epidemiology Center Workshop, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, August 24-27, 2016.

Hennessy, D.A. “Animal Health Economics: The Plumbing in Models.” Presentation made remotely to INRA, French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Meta Program on Multi-scale modelling, from animal Intra-Host to Metapopulation (MIHMES), Plenary Scientific Meeting, Nantes, France January 30, 2015.