Professor Karl Rich

Professor Karl M. Rich is Head of Research and Strategy at Lab 863 s.r.o., a boutique research firm in the Czech Republic that conducts applied research on value chain analysis, animal health economics, and regional development. He also holds appointments as a Research Professor (on leave) at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), an adjunct researcher with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), and a Visiting Professor in Animal Health and Behavioural Economics at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). He has previously worked at the American University in Cairo, International Livestock Research Institute, International Food Policy Research Institute, and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

His research applies systems approaches and quantitative methods in the areas of animal and aquatic health, agribusiness and marketing chains, and agricultural policy. Of particular interest and expertise are the development and application of system dynamics, multi market, and agent-based models, which have been used to quantitatively study value chains for agricultural and livestock products in the developing world. These models represent an important advance in the area of value chain analysis by providing a platform to conduct rigorous policy analysis to prioritize between different investment and policy options. In the area of animal health economics, Professor Rich is considered a global authority, recently obtaining a Visiting Professorial Chair by SRUC in Scotland and serving as a key resource person in the EU-funded NEAT project that develops networks of animal health practitioners to develop and improve teaching materials in economics for veterinary students.  Professor Rich has published or submitted 30 peer-reviewed articles in international journals; 30 working papers, book chapters, and conference proceedings; and 60 conference presentations. Since 2010, he has been part of multidisciplinary teams of researchers that raised over A$5 million in research funds.

Professor Rich holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Consumer Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2005); an M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1996); and an A.B. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley (1993).