Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development

Date of birth
April 25, 1969

Place of birth
Meppen, Lower Saxony, Germany

Undergraduate studies

  • 1991-1996: Studies in agricultural economics, University of Kiel (Master degree ‘Diplom-Agraringenieur’ 1996)
  • 1995-1996: Studies in agricultural economics, Wageningen Agricultural University (European M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness 1996)


Graduate studies and academic career

  • 1996-2001: Ph.D. in agricultural economics, University of Kiel (Dr.sc.agr. summa cum laude 2001)
  • 2001-2002: Research Associate (‘Akademischer Rat’), Institute of Agricultural Economics, University of Kiel
  • 2002-2005: Assistant professor (‘Wissenschaftlicher Assistent’), Institute of Agricultural Economics, University of Göttingen
  • 2005-2011:Professor (W2) University of Goettingen
  • since 2011: Professor (W3) University of Goettingen
  • since April 2021 Vice-President for Research, University of Göttingen


Selected honors, memberships, and academic activities

  • Kiel University Faculty of Agriculture Award for the best Ph.D. thesis (2002)
  • European Association of Agricultural Economics Award for the best article in the European Review of Agricultural Economics by a young scientist (2002)
  • German Association of Agricultural Economics Award for outstanding work by a young researcher (2004)
  • Offered a Chair for Agricultural Policy (W3) at the University of Hohenheim (2006)


Research interests

  • Measurement of productivity growth and transmission of policies on rural markets
    This research focuses on the estimation of productivity growth, emphasizing the efficiency and technical change. The methodological framework is based on the stochastic production frontier analysis approach, with an extension to multiple outputs. Special attention is paid to the impact of policy reform on agricultural markets, including transition policies and international trade liberalization. The transmission of these policies between markets is a necessary precondition to identify the impact of policy changes on farm households in rural areas. The linkage between the areas of productivity growth, price transmission, and policy reform in a market-oriented economy is at the core of the research agenda.

  • Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy
    The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has undergone tremendous changes over the past two decades. Originally perceived as an engine of European integration by most policymakers, and considered as one of the most interventionist policies the European agricultural sector has ever seen by the vast majority of agricultural economists, the CAP of today is still a very complex set of policies, whose instruments range from old-style, direct interventionist policies over rural development policies to presumably decoupled direct payments. The recent reforms in the sugar sector, the debate on the future of the milk quota, and the impact of CAP reforms on land markets, are the core areas of interest for our research group.

  • Spatial and vertical market integration analysis
    The spatial and temporal dimension of agricultural trade are analysed using time series econometrics to gain a deeper understanding of the functioning of agricultural markets in the presence of both, natural and policy-induced shocks, in particular the adaptation of prices to these interventions.. Recent changes on international markets (including the recent ‘commodity hype’ and the developments on energy markets) seem to have a distinct impact on the price determination for agricultural commodities which might trigger fundamental changes in the future prospects for agricultural producers worldwide. The role of international trade agreements (WTO, regional and preferential trade agreements) for international markets is another important research strand in this context.



Selected externally funded research projects


Selected publications
(for a full list of publications, please refer to my profile on
Google Scholar, ResearcherID or ORCID

  • Dalheimer, B., C. Kubitza, and B. Brümmer (2022). “Technical efficiency and farmland expansion: Evidence from oil palm smallholders in Indonesia”. In: American Journal of Agricultural Economics 104.4, pp. 1364–1387.
  • Berger, J., B. Dalheimer, and B. Brümmer (2021). “Effects of variable EU import levies on corn price volatility”. In: Food Policy 102, p. 102063.
  • Fiankor, D.-D. D., I. Flachsbarth, A. Masood, and B. Brümmer (2020). “Does Global-GAP certification promote agrifood exports?” In: European Review of Agricultural Economics 47.1, pp. 247–272
  • Brümmer, B., O. Korn, K. Schlüßler, and T. Jamali Jaghdani (2016). “Volatility in oilseeds and vegetable oils markets: Drivers and spillovers”. In: Journal of Agricultural Economics 67.3, pp. 685–705.
  • Huang, W., B. Brümmer, and L. Huntsinger (2016). “Incorporating measures of grassland productivity into efficiency estimates for livestock grazing on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China”. In: Ecological Economics 122, pp. 1–11.
  • Götz, L., T. Glauben, and B. Brümmer (2013). “Wheat export restrictions and domestic market effects in Russia and Ukraine during the food crisis”. In: Food Policy 38, pp. 214–226.
  • Rao, E. J., B. Brümmer, and M. Qaim (2012). “Farmer participation in supermarket channels, production technology, and efficiency: the case of vegetables in Kenya”. In: American journal of agricultural economics 94.4, pp. 891–912.
  • Brümmer, B., S. von Cramon-Taubadel, and S. Zorya (2009). “The impact of market and policy instability on price transmission between wheat and flour in Ukraine”. In: European review of agricultural economics 36.2, pp. 203–230.
  • Brümmer, B., T. Glauben, and G. Thijssen (2002).“Decomposition of productivity growth using distance functions: the case of dairy farms in three European countries”. In: American journal of agricultural economics 84.3, pp. 628–644.
  • Brümmer, B. (2001). “Estimating confidence intervals for technical efficiency: the case of private farms in Slovenia”. In: European review of agricultural economics 28.3, pp. 285–306.